Las Vegas Family of Seven Demonstrates New Meaning of Love with Adoption of Eight Foster Youth

Las Vegas, Nevada, 2020-Feb-26 — /EPR Network/ — In Clark County, there are 3,000 children that enter the child welfare system on any given day, who are in need of loving, stable homes. Las Vegas resident Marti Rayner, a mother to seven biological children, partnered with the Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS) over the years to open her heart and home with the adoption of eight foster youth.

Big families mean big responsibilities, and Marti doesn’t do it all on her own. Marti’s eldest daughter, Grace Rayner also helps her family and her siblings who for some have disabilities while managing to find time to be a staple in the community as United States of America’s Miss Nevada.

“When we started this, we started with the idea of possibly adopting a little girl so that Grace could have a sister, but she just took on the role of sister for everybody. Before they attached to me, before they attached to my husband, it was her,” said Rayner. “She was a happy face; I just don’t think I could have done it without her and the rest of my family.”

Marti and her family have a close relationship to DFS as they have been instrumental in providing her and her family the support and resources that help her adopted and fostered youth to thrive.

“There’s not a day that goes by that we’re not thankful for all of the kids that came through the home, said Rayner. “Each one of them taught us something.”

DFS’ mission is to ensure that youth and children are protected from abuse and neglect, by partnering with the community to recruit loving families to open their homes and provide safety and stability for these children during the interim that they are separated from their families.

“We encourage our community to get involved and provide safe, nurturing and stable families for our youth in foster care,” said Jennifer Erbes, BA, Family Services Manager Resource Development & Support Unit. “We are grateful for Marti and her family for their dedication in ensuring the well-being of children in their care.

For more information on how to get involved, visit countmein.vegas.

About Clark County Department of Family Services

Protecting children from abuse and neglect by partnering with our community to build safe, nurturing and stable families, to support family preservation when possible, to provide permanent families for those children who cannot safely return home and to ensure the well-being of children in our care.

In cooperation with NVDCFS, an adoption incentive program.

Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability.  With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 14th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.3 million citizens and 45.3 million visitors a year. Included are the nation’s 8th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to about 1 million residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.