Child- and youth-specific recruitment is based on finding a family for a specific child or youth through proactive outreach efforts, including interjurisdictional initiatives. Typical examples include newspaper or television features of a specific child, youth or sibling group (e.g. Wednesday's Child) or photolisting a child or youth on their State photolisting, local adoption exchange and AdoptUsKids.

Along similar lines, child- and youth-centered recruitment begins by comprehensively assessing the youth's history prior to and after entering the child welfare system, including case history and agency files, and previous relationships, and bringing this information into the current context. Every effort should be made to involve the child or youth, as developmentally appropriate. Workers can then build on this knowledge to proactively search out contacts who might be—or may know of—potential resources for a child or youth needing a foster or adoptive placement, such as relatives and other important people in the child or youth's life.

Ideas from the Field

The programs and initiatives highlighted below include ideas and examples of successful efforts from the field. Some of these initiatives have ended while others are still active. We are continually adding to this list as new strategies emerge. Check back soon for more great ideas on recruiting and retaining foster, adoptive and kinship parents.

• Permanency Partners Program (P3): In an effort to address the approximately 8,000 youth ages 12-18 in care, Los Angeles County DCFS has implemented a pilot program that pairs trained Permanency Partners with youth to identify one or more permanent connections, with the goal of either family reunification or moving the child out of long-term foster care and into adoption or legal guardianship. Started in October of 2004 as a public-private partnership between L.A. County DCFS and Consortium for Children, the program initially identified 50 youth to participate and continues to expand today. Key program components include intensive file mining, exploring the youth's life and past connections and the development of a written agreement regarding the relationship and services that will achieve permanence for each youth. Source: Los Angeles County DCFS (CA) & Consortium for Children / Contact: Tiffany Collins, collita@dcfs.lacounty.gov
  
  
• Recruiting with Power Point Presentations: Using technology creatively, Three Rivers Adoption Council in Pittsburgh, PA, has found a way to bring the personalities and stories of their youth to life through Power Point presentations. These presentations, created by the youth with assistance from a worker, allow the youth to express themselves through words, pictures and graphics in a media format that can be used in recruitment events as well as on the organization's website. The program, which started in January 2004 and continues today, not only draws on older youth and teens' computer savvy, but also provides a great opportunity for workers and youth to work collaboratively and address adoption issues. Says Sheila Hill of TRAC, "So far 50 kids have completed Power Points with 22 kids having some sort of placement where they were removed from [our] webpage." Source: Three Rivers Adoption Council (TRAC) / Contact: Sheila Hill, 412.471.8722 or shill@3riversadopt.org
  
  
• Wendy's Wonderful Kids: This program provides grants to agencies and organizations to hire adoption recruiters focused specifically on recruiting adoptive families for waiting children and youth. "In 2004, Wendy's Wonderful Kids was piloted in seven U.S. cities, resulting in 47 percent of the waiting children on the recruiter's caseloads being matched with families and moving toward adoption in less than twelve months." With such success, the program has now expanded to all 50 States, the District of Columbia and throughout Canada, with a total goal of placing 8,000 to 10,000 foster children in adoptive homes by 2010. Source: Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption / Contact: 800.275.3832 or wwk@wendys.com
  
  
• Permanency: More Than Just Homes (256 KB PDF): This 2009 article on achieving timely permanency intended for CASA volunteers also offers guidance to child welfare workers and others. The article describes several concrete strategies for practice, including concurrent planning and dual licensing of foster and adoptive parents. Two tools are described for identifying important connections and potential permanency options for children who cannot reunify. The “Connectedness Map” helps children identify their important personal connections, which are then noted and color coded to describe biological, love, spiritual and mental relationships. A “Connections Circle” tool utilized in a National CASA research study is another method to assist young people in identifying their important relationships, and the degree of closeness of each one. Source: February 2010 issue of E-Notes

Resources and Reports

AdoptUsKids

• Lasting Impressions: A Guide for Photolisting Children (615 KB PDF): This guide focuses on photolistings of children to be used in print—whether in a book, newspaper, magazine, or newsletter—or on the Internet. It is designed to provide you with everything you need to know to prepare children for the photolisting experience and to prepare others who are important in children’s lives for this exciting but potentially stressful opportunity.

Other Resources

• Foster Care Adoption in the United States: An Analysis of Interest in Adoption and a Review of State Recruitment Strategies: Conducted by the Urban Institute Child Welfare Research Program, this 2005 report provides a national overview of the state of adoption recruitment by examining motivations and interest levels in adoption, the types of people who take further steps and how such interest might be translated into foster care adoption. The report also provides some innovative child-specific, faith-based, diligent and targeted recruitment activities. Source: The National Adoption Day Coalition / Contact: National Adoption Day, 202.572.2993; The Urban Institute, 202.833.7200
  
  
• Individualized and Targeted Recruitment for Adoption (141 KB PDF): This 2003 resource provides an overview of child-specific and targeted recruitment efforts and strategies that have achieved observable results. Some of the child-specific programs highlighted include Wednesday's Child, New Mexico's Heart Gallery, Georgia's Video Conference Matching Meetings, Iowa's Permanency for Teens Project, One Church One Child, Strategic Recruitment, RESULTS and the Utah Foster Care Foundation. Source: Casey Family Programs / Contact: cncinfo@casey.org

For additional resources on recruitment and retention of foster, adoptive and kinship parents, see our publications for professionals or find out more about targeted recruitment and family retention.