A longtime foster mother and a pediatrician are being honored today for their contributions to the lives of foster children in Ventura County.

Pattie Hunt, 49, of Oak View and Dr. Chris Landon, 56, of Ojai have won awards from Kids & Families Together, a nonprofit organization aiding families involved in foster care, adoption and relative care.

Hunt has cared for 70 foster children over the past 10 years, many of them drug-exposed infants. The mother of four grown children said she started taking foster youngsters into her home after she couldn't have any more babies of her own.

"I just kept going," she said, adding that she does not see a day when she will quit being a foster parent.

She also is president of the Ventura County Foster Parent Association. In that role, her goal is to continue working with county officials to improve the lives of abused, neglected and abandoned youngsters.

Kids & Families Together cited her work with drug-exposed infants, who require intensive attention and rounds of medical appointments. She often keeps in touch with birth parents or adoptive parents long after the babies leave her care.

Landon is being honored for his years of medical service to the children of Ventura County, many of them in foster care.

The USC and Stanford-trained physician has directed pediatrics for nearly 20 years at Ventura County Medical Center. He was cited for care of children with cystic fibrosis, ensuring that abused children receive counseling, and establishing a comprehensive program of inpatient and outpatient care for needy youngsters throughout the county.

Landon also has worked to provide early intervention for substance-exposed babies and bring nationally known specialists to the county to supervise care of seriously ill children.

He said placing pediatricians at the various county clinics was an important step because foster families now had "a medical home" rather than having to travel to Ventura for care.

Landon also was recognized for connecting foster families with the county Behavioral Health Department, where children traumatized by neglect and abuse can get counseling.

"When we bring families together and tell them we are going to be able to support them with more behavioral health services, they will start crying," he said.

Hunt and Landon are being honored today at a breakfast at the Topa Tower in Oxnard. Kids & Families Together makes the "Together We Care" awards twice during the year. They are given in May, which is National Foster Care Awareness Month, and in November, which is National Adoption Month.

Ventura County has more than 600 children in foster care.