The Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services has partnered with several local LGBT organizations to launch a visibility campaign informing LGBT people about fostering or adopting children.

This effort to educate prospective LGBT parents about the need for foster and adoptive homes comes at the same time as a new report issued by the Family Equality Council, the Center for American Progress and the Movement Advancement Project highlights the specific needs and challenges facing LGBT families.

The report, “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families, ”addresses inequalities in laws that should be aimed at protecting all families, but only protect families that are headed by heterosexual married couples.

"Ten years ago there were very few LGBT families that understood that they could foster and adopt through the county," says Robyn Harrod, Adoption Director at Southern California Foster Family and Adoption Agency. "Now, nearly 50% of the families our agency works with are headed by single or partnered gays and lesbians."