Last Updated October, 2009
Training & Technical Assistance Activities
E-Notes
Training & Technical Assistance
Recruitment & Retention IV-B Plan
AdoptUsKids has provided assistance to stakeholder groups working on developing their State's Title IV-B recruitment and retention plan. This type of work often involves strategic planning and focus groups, and is responsive to the State's unique system structure and demographics. Whether assisting a State in transitioning through public-private partnerships or creating greater consistency across county-based systems, consultants are available to provide key insight with the stakeholder group during the assessment and planning stages. Once on-site, they work to develop concrete goals, strategies, and action plans to address issues deemed a priority. Assistance continues afterward with follow-up reviews to determine the effectiveness of the plans. AdoptUsKids has also developed a publication in the Answering the Call series, The Practitioner's Guide, which can assist State staff in this work.
Effective Recruitment & Retention Methods
AdoptUsKids has responded to States wanting to improve their response to families, target their recruitment efforts and/or their recruitment messages, and engage their experienced foster and adoptive families in the recruitment process. In some states, this has meant working to achieve cultural sensitivity and organizational change around recruitment and retention practices. This service often includes the research and dissemination of promising practices and methods. AdoptUsKids has also developed a curriculum on being responsive to families, based on the Answering the Call publication The Practitioner's Guide.
Teen Recruitment
To meet the challenge many States have experienced in finding families for older youth and teens, AdoptUsKids has provided technical assistance and training on this subject. Training focuses, in particular, on engaging States, Tribes, and key stakeholders in cultural and philosophical change around the idea of youth and teen permanency. Much of the work in this field is a collaborative effort as adolescent and teen permanency is an issue that is shared among several of the National Resource Centers.
Sibling Recruitment
AdoptUsKids has provided technical assistance for states interested in recruiting and retaining foster and adoptive families for sibling groups. Services have included research on best practices and state legislation, policy and procedures; facilitating the sharing of information between states; guiding state and county stakeholder groups in focusing recruitment and retention on keeping siblings together in placement; providing training to statewide recruitment specialists.
Faith-Based Work
AdoptUsKids has assisted States in either establishing or strengthening their collaborations with faith-based organizations. Consultants have participated in and helped facilitate strategic planning meetings to determine the structure and organization of such collaborations. In addition, AdoptUsKids has produced a publication, Finding Common Ground: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies Working with Communities of Faith (PDF 2.9 MB/100 pages).
Diligent Recruitment
AdoptUsKids has assisted several States in meeting the legal requirements of the Multiethnic Placement Act as it relates to diligent recruitment and serving children, youth, and families of color. Consultants with practical experience and expertise have addressed a wide range of issues from improving communication and outreach between States and Native American Tribes to improving targeted recruitment efforts of Hispanic/Latino and African American families. In addition, AdoptUsKids has undertaken efforts through research and education to address the issue of cultural competence in the child welfare system and its impact on recruitment and retention practices.
Performance-Based Contracting
In response to the increased use of performance-based contracting for child welfare services, AdoptUsKids offers consultation to assist States in the development and review of their contracts. Consultation may address a variety of topics such as philosophy of practice guiding such contracts, baseline performance measurements, reporting requirements for progress assessment, agency review and feedback.
Facilitated Dialogue
A facilitated dialogue is an in-depth and candid discussion focused on inspiring and challenging participants to consider the ways in which the relationship between foster and adoptive families, agency staff, and birth families impacts recruitment, retention, and child/youth permanency. Some of the topics explored during these discussions include reasons why foster/adoptive families and agency staff experience tension, what great team work looks like, some of the flaws in our thinking about "confidentiality," ways to resolve natural tensions that occur between foster/adoptive families and birth families, and the significant role that foster families should play as part of the professional team. Through interactive discussion, soul searching, and examination of specific family stories, a facilitated dialogue asks participants to "dig deep" and examine, in sensitive and safe ways, their beliefs about this work, about families, and about the work of foster families in a child protection system of care.
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