Approximately 1,530 children and adolescents across the state are currently under the care of the Baja California State DIF (National System for Integral Family Development), with 50 of them living in Rosarito.

This was reported by Briza Ariadna Bentley Ramírez, the State DIF delegate, during a recent presentation to the Madrugadores civic group. She provided details about the institution’s Family Foster Care Program, known locally as Familias de Corazón (“Heart Families”), which offers certified caregivers the opportunity to temporarily host children while their long-term situation is resolved—whether it be reunification with their families, adoption, or independent living as they approach adulthood.

According to Bentley Ramírez, only about 15% of the minors entered the system due to abandonment. The majority are sheltered by DIF due to neglect or sexual abuse.

“What we do is provide public guardianship when parental care is absent,” she explained in an interview. “If there’s no family care, we can intervene, but that doesn’t always mean abandonment. Only 15% of these children have been legally declared abandoned. In those cases, special or urgent protective measures may be taken, such as placing them temporarily with a Heart Family for six months to a year, depending on the child’s needs.”

The program’s top priority is to reunite children with their families whenever possible. Bentley Ramírez emphasized that remaining within a family environment is usually best for a child’s development. “Institutionalization is always our last resort,” she said. “That’s why we prioritize reunification with the biological family, extended family, or even a meaningful adult figure in the child’s life. Sometimes the child has a strong bond with a godparent or even the local shopkeeper—those connections can be a path to avoiding institutional placement.”

Currently, 10 Heart Families are caring for or have cared for a total of 17 children under the program. The initiative remains open to individuals and families who meet specific requirements and wish to provide temporary care to a child or adolescent.

Bentley Ramírez also shared the story of Zacarías, a young powerlifting gold medalist who once lived in a DIF shelter in Tijuana. Thanks to the Heart Families program, he found a home with his high-performance coach, who chose to take him in and continue training him. Even after reaching adulthood, Zacarías remained in the program under his coach’s care. The coach, a single man, opted to continue supporting him, setting a powerful example of community involvement in the lives of vulnerable children.