Project MATCH

Project MATCH (Making Appropriate and Timely connections for Children) is aimed at finding permanency for children in Kentucky’s foster care system. The Kentucky Department for Community Based Services is targeting the service regions of Eastern Mountain, Southern Bluegrass, The Lakes and Two Rivers by partnering with the University of Louisville, University of Kentucky and Murray State University.

Project MATCH has four overarching goals:

• Increase the pool of resource parents to more accurately reflect each region’s out-of-home care population
• Increase the effectiveness in locating and using appropriate kinship care
• Fully integrate concurrent planning into permanency planning
• Increase inter- and intra-agency communication between public, private and community stakeholders.

These goals are being achieved through:

• Targeted- and child-specific approach to recruitment
• Implementation of a customer service model of resource parent recruitment, selection, training and retention
• Quarterly regional peer consultation groups
• Use of respite between completion of pre-service training, approval and placement
• Collaboratively review permanency data with the courts
• Fully integrate concurrent planning into permanency planning
   

Project Highlights and Products

• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Promising Practices in Foster Parent Retention Leaflet (PDF -1.3 MB)
• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Targeted Recruitment Leaflet (PDF -1.4 MB)
• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Promising Practices in Resource Parent Recruitment Presentation (PDF - 1.2 MB)
• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Promising Practices in Resource Parent Retention Presentation (PDF - 392 KB)
• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Strategies for Improving Customer Service Presentation (PDF - 337 KB)
• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Strategies for Improving Customer Service Leaflet (PDF - 1.3 MB)
• Outreach Tool: Targeted local restaurant billboard developed from market segmentation data (PNG – 197 KB)
  
  
• Outreach Tool: Flower seed packets with project information
  
    
• Outreach Tool: Paycheck Stub for National Adoption Month (PDF - 102 KB)
• Outreach Tool: Project MATCH tray liner for a local restaurant (PDF - 313 KB)
• Outreach Tool: Project Match Brochure (PDF - 436 KB)
• Newsletter: Project MATCH newsletter March 2010 (PDF - 1.8 MB)
• Newsletter: Project MATCH newsletter highlighting the project model and targeted sites (PDF - 1.6 MB)
• Newsletter: Project MATCH June 2010 Newsletter (PDF - 5.5 MB)
• Newsletter: Project MATCH September 2010 (PDF - 2.4 MB)
• Newsletter: Project MATCH April 2011 Newsletter (PDF 238 KB)
• Press Release: Twenty-Seven Jefferson families celebrate adoptions; 38 children join new families on Louisville Adoption Day
• Press Release: Celebrity Fundraiser to Benefit State Adoption Program
• Press Release: Project MATCHES Resource Parents, Children
• Press Coverage: Article in Lexington Herald-Leader titled “UK program offers support to adoptive parents”
• Press Coverage: News story by WBKO titled "Project MATCH Foster Parent and Adoption Fair"
• Press Coverage: Event announcement in the Courier Press titled "Foster parenting information sessions set"
• Press Coverage: Article in the Courier Press titled "'You do the best you can' Foster parents assume challenge because kids have a need"
• Press Coverage: Article in The Voice-Tribune titled "Love knows no color: Adopted children find hope in multi-ethnic families"
• Project Model Document: Project MATCH Integration Flow Chart (PDF - 256 KB)
• Project Evaluation: Journal article in Children and Youth Services Review titled “Use of data to assess performance and promote outcome achievement by public and private child welfare agency staff” (abstract only, e-mail crystal.collinscamargo@louisville.edu for more information)
• Evaluation Tool: Alternative Caregiver Training Program Feedback Form (PDF - 101 KB)
• Project Information: Executive Summary November 2010 (PDF - 506 KB)
• Presentation: Project MATCH spring 2010 grantees meeting presentation (PDF - 918 KB)
• Presentation: Project MATCH 2008 grantee kick-off meeting presentation