"Pictures make all the difference."
For 20 years, you could see their faces: An 8-year-old girl with chopped bangs and sad, brown eyes; a tall teenage boy with a shy smile; a 13-year-old girl with glasses, beaming between her three younger brothers.
Professional photographers teamed up with Heart Galleries across the country to provide portraits of children who needed families.
Those photos were shared on websites, in churches and at malls.
Thousands of strangers — some who had never considered adopting — fell in love with those faces and asked about bringing the kids home.
But two years ago, Florida became the first state to adopt a law that makes it illegal to share pictures of foster children with the public.
Now, to see photos of kids in Florida’s care, you have to go through a process that takes six months to a year: attend an informational session, take a series of classes, pass a background check and home study with inspections and interviews.
The law was intended to protect foster kids’ privacy — and keep them safe.
But some child welfare advocates say it’s hindering those children’s chances of being adopted. And causing prospective parents to seek kids from other states.
Read more at the Tampa Bay Times