Program Goals

The goals of Child-Focused Recruitment – Wendy's Wonderful Kids are:

• All foster care adoption recruiters practice child-focused recruitment
• Children at risk of aging out of care secure a legally permanent placement
• Significantly increase the adoptions of older youth and reduce the number of children aging out of care

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Child-Focused Recruitment – Wendy's Wonderful Kids.

Essential Components

The essential components of Child-Focused Recruitment – Wendy's Wonderful Kids include:

• Three sections: Model Components, Child Components, and Caseload Components:
• Model Components: Unlike general or targeted foster care adoption recruitment practices, the tactics of the child-focused recruitment strategy include:
• Initial child referral: Contact the child's caseworker to introduce the role of Wendy's Wonderful Kids, gather initial referral information, establish date to begin case file review and schedule initial meeting with child
• Relationship with child: Meet with the child monthly, at a minimum, to develop trust and openness, preferably in person and one-on-one
• Case record review: Conduct an exhaustive record review of the existing case file which may take several days during which the recruiter will develop a system to document:
• Date and reason child entered the system
• Child's most recent profile/assessment
• Chronological placement history
• Significant services provided currently or in the past
• Identification of needed services
• All significant people in the child's life past and present; including caseworker, foster parent, attorney, CASA volunteer, teacher, therapist, relative, mentor, faith-based representative, extracurricular activity leader, etc.
• Next court date
• Assessment: Determine the child's strengths, challenges, desires, preparedness for adoption, and whether the child has needs that should be addressed before moving forward with the adoption process
• If so, work with the child's caseworker to assure these needs are met
• Develop a written assessment initially and update quarterly to enhance the child-focused recruitment plan
• Adoption preparation: Assure that the child and the adopting family are prepared for adoption; including discussing any particular needs the child has during the matching process
• Network-building: Meet with significant adults and maintain regular and ongoing contact (caseworker, foster parent, attorney, CASA volunteer, teacher, therapist, relative, mentor, faith-based representative, extracurricular activity leader, etc.)
• Keep regular and ongoing contact with persons close to and knowledgeable about the child which will facilitate recruitment activities and assist in adoption preparation; monthly contact with the child's caseworker is essential
• Recruitment plan: Based on the file review, interviews with significant adults, and the input of the child, develop a comprehensive recruitment plan or enhance the existing recruitment plan
• Customize the recruiter's plan for each child as defined by the child's needs
• Review and update the plan at least quarterly
• Diligent search: Implement the ongoing and intensive process of identifying, locating, and contacting persons whom the recruiter identifies as being potential resources in the adoption of the child. Conduct aggressive follow-up with identified contacts, with the knowledge and approval of the child's caseworker.
• Child Components
• Children on the caseload must:
• Be in the public foster care system
• Have been freed for adoption, have a permanence plan for adoption, or a plan to be freed for adoption; this may be a concurrent plan
• Be without a current identified adoptive family
• Children on the caseload may:
• Be members of a sibling group
• Have had previous recruitment efforts
• Have had unsuccessful adoptive placements
• Be in varying stages of adoption preparedness
• Be opposed to adoption
• While on caseload, rescind their consent to adoption
• Have special physical, emotional, developmental, and educational needs
• No child may be denied access to child-focused recruitment services based on race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, and any other characteristics protected by applicable law
• Caseload Components:
• Recruiters must be committed to finding a safe, permanent adoptive family for all children in need on their caseload
• Caseload size: The recommended number of children is 20, with a maximum of 25
• Caseload composition: Children may be at different levels of adoption preparedness, may have had different levels of prior recruitment, and may have been waiting for adoption for varying lengths of time
• Status of children
• Active status: At any given time, the recruiter should be intensively, actively recruiting for 12-15 children
• The remaining children on the caseload may be in a less intensive phase of the recruitment process, for example:
• A child that has been matched with a family who is in a pre-adoptive placement
• A child who requires greater adoption preparation (e.g., incarcerated, hospitalized, having special needs which must first be addressed, adjusting to disrupted match or adoption, or opposed to adoption)
• Inactive status: A child may be considered part of the caseload, but inactive if he or she has runaway, or is physically unavailable for adoption due to long-term incarceration or hospitalization. NOTE: The recruiter must have periodic contact with all children on the caseload regardless of status.
• Removing children from the caseload: Placement in residential, therapeutic, or other congregate care does not require removal from the caseload
• A child should be removed from the caseload under the following circumstances:
• Child's adoption finalized
• Court granted legal guardianship (this outcome will be tracked, but not reported as a finalized adoption)
• Child's permanency goal changed by caseworker, and the recruiter no longer has access to child and child's files
• Child ages out of foster care and their case is closed

Program Delivery

Child/Adolescent Services

Child-Focused Recruitment – Wendy's Wonderful Kids directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:

• In foster care and freed for adoption as a result of abuse/neglect/abandonment, have a concurrent plan of adoption, in APPLA status, lack of identified parent/adoptive home

Services Involve Family/Support Structures:

This program involves the family or other support systems in the individual's treatment: Current foster parents, potential adoptive parents, and fictive kin and others known to and supportive of child are involved in the program by giving the child support as they go through the recruitment process.

Recommended Intensity:

Minimum of monthly in-person contact between recruiter and child, recruiter and child's caseworker, recruiter, and other relevant players in the child's case

Recommended Duration:

Until the child is adopted, on average 18-24 months

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Foster / Kinship Care
• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
• Group or Residential Care
• School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Child-Focused Recruitment – Wendy's Wonderful Kids has materials available in languages other than English:

French, Spanish

For information on which materials are available in these languages, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

Ability to house and support a full-time employee and the resources necessary; access to children assigned and their case files

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

The hiring agency will determine prerequisite/minimum provider qualifications. Recommendations include child welfare experience, preferably in foster care adoption, with a degree in social work or related field.

Manual Information

There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Andrea Williams, Senior Director, Training
  andrea.williams@davethomasfoundation.org
  phone: (614) 764-6867

Training Type/Location:

Recruiters and supervisors are provided with three orientation online training modules, a two-day classroom training on the model, scheduled site visits, and technical assistance from adoption program management staff, webinars on relevant topics, and an annual summit of all recruiters and supervisors implementing the child-focused recruitment model.

Number of days/hours:

Child-focused recruitment orientation takes two hours, classroom training takes two days, site visits take a full day, quarterly webinars are typically 90 minutes long, and an in-person annual gathering called the "Wendy's Wonderful Kids Summit" lasts 2.5 days.

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Child Welfare Outcome: Permanency

Additional References