Our membership includes several hundred families residing in the Greater Los Angeles area and Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

In June 1995, a handful of new and waiting parents gathered together on the patio of the Brentwood Souplantation restaurant to socialize and exchange parenting tips and tales while their little ones played.  So began the Los Angeles chapter of FCC, under the leadership of new parents Martin and Renee Montgomery.  As the group expanded and the weather cooled, the get-togethers moved to a community room at the Westside Pavilion Shopping Center in West Los Angeles.  When FCC-LA parents Ed and Susan Tschabrun moved to Orange County, they began the FCC-Orange County chapter.

In 1998, China’s adoption program stabilized and became even more popular.  The number of prospective parents, parents and children attending FCC meetings surged.  FCC moved its monthly family meetings to Westwood Park, then to the Vista Del Mar Children & Family Services playground and the West Los Angeles United Methodist Church.

To address organizational growth and to better meet the needs of its expanding membership, FCC-LA formed a Steering Committee in 1998 to coordinate programs and manage other activities.  These original key volunteers spearheaded creative programming and initiatives, located new meeting venues, started traditions and took the organization to a new level.  Many of the special events and programs launched during this time remain staples on the FCC calendar, including the annual Chinese New Year banquets in Chinatown. 

On January 6, 1999, FCC-Los Angeles became a California public benefit nonprofit corporation and received tax-exempt status from the IRS.  The Steering Committee transitioned into the FCC-LA corporate Board of Directors.  In 2000, FCC-Orange County affiliated with FCC-Los Angeles and the organization changed its name to FCC-Southern California.

In the 1990’s, the early days of the current China adoption program, adoptive parents and those waiting to adopt joined together informally to offer each other support, to circulate information and to create a nurturing community.  These casual volunteer family support groups became known as Families with Children from China (FCC).  Unlike previous generations of international, transracial adoptees, the children of FCC have had the unprecedented benefit of growing up with access to an international community of adopted peers where their heritage and adoption is celebrated.

Today there are more than 100 chapters of FCC in nearly all 50 states (and abroad), with multiple chapters in some states like California.  Some are formally organized non-profit corporations, while others are more informal.  Chapters range in size from a few dozen member families to more than 2,000, and are staffed by volunteer parents and friends.  Chapter leaders communicate through a national email network and some collaborate on issues of common concern.  However, FCC does not have a national board of directors or executive staff that sets policy or speaks for all chapters.  Indeed, each FCC chapter has its own distinct voice, mission statement, logo, programming goals and philosophy.

Although “independently owned and operated,” FCC chapters generally share the following three goals:  (1) To support families who have adopted in China through post-adoption and Chinese cultural programs; (2) To encourage adoption from China and support waiting families; and (3) To advocate for and support children remaining in orphanages in China.  (See FCC National Website at www.fwcc.org.)