PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2007
THE ADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION TO LEAD NATIONAL EFFORT TO RECRUIT FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE FAMILIES FOR AMERICAN CHILDREN
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau again selects The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids as the recipient of a five-year Cooperative Agreement with an award of $3,669,500 in FY08.
Baltimore, Oct 2, 2007—Following a very successful five years, the Adoption Exchange Association (AEA) has again been selected by the Children’s Bureau to lead AdoptUsKids, a national initiative to partner with States and Tribes to recruit foster and adoptive families for children in foster care. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are more than 500,000 children in foster care in the United States. Approximately 114,000 of those children will not be able to return to their parents and are waiting for families to adopt them.
In 2002, the Children’s Bureau made its award to AEA, and The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids was launched. Founding partners of the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids include AEA, The Adoption Exchange, Inc. (Aurora, CO), Northwest Adoption Exchange (Seattle, WA), Child Welfare League of America (Arlington, VA), Holt International (Eugene, CO), and University of Texas at Austin.
According to AEA’s Chief Executive Officer, Rachel Pratt, during the first five years of The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids : 1) more than 8,000 children who were featured on adoptuskids.org were placed with adoptive families; and 2) almost 40,000 prospective parents inquired about becoming licensed to foster or adopt. Dixie Davis, AEA President, says "The AEA is determined that no child in America be without a family. We are proud to coordinate the efforts of over 205 adoption service organizations from across the country in this important service of The Children's Bureau." During the next five years, The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids will build upon its success to achieve the following:
- At least 70 free on-site days of training and technical assistance annually to States and Tribes
- Creation of an Interjurisdictional Information Network to facilitate the adoption of children across county and state lines
- Over 6,000 children each year listed on www.adoptuskids.org
- Enhancements to adoptuskids.org and adopte1.org that will increase use of the English and Spanish-language websites by professionals and families
- Increased retention of foster and adoptive parents through the development of effective and replicable respite programs to serve parents in their local communities.
Elements of The Collaboration that make these tremendous accomplishments possible include:
- Training and Technical Assistance: AdoptUsKids has already provided more than 225 days of on-site training to child welfare staff in 39 states. Off-site training and technical assistance was made available to additional states.
- www.adoptuskids.org: Among many informational and support sections of the website is a database of waiting children and prospective adoptive parents where families and social workers can search and make matches. More than 16,000 children and 13,000 families have been registered, and more than 8,000 registered children were placed with adoptive families. www.adopte1.org is the companion website in Spanish.
- National Media Campaigns: The first-ever federally funded national multi-media campaign was created in partnership with the Advertising Council. Of the four campaigns that have been produced, two are in English and two in Spanish. Through this and other outreach over the past five years, almost 40,000 families inquired about becoming foster and/or adoptive parents. The campaigns generated over $150 million in donated advertising space so far, and won numerous advertising awards.
- Recruitment Response Teams: A national network was created to support prospective foster and adoptive families through the licensing process in English and Spanish. All states were served by RRTs as well the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Specialized RRTs were created to serve military families and other Americans living abroad, and American Indians.
- Publications: A variety of publications geared toward social workers, managers, and families was created and distributed to support States and Tribes in recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive families.
- Research: Two longitudinal studies were conducted with the participation of hundreds of parents and caseworkers to better understand barriers to adoption from foster care and adoption successes.
- Parent Support: To strengthen foster and adoptive families, 175 mini-grants were made available to parent support groups across the country. This initiative will be enhanced through a studied approach to the provision of respite care for foster and adoptive parents.
- Evaluation: An independent evaluation of all elements of The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids has informed strategic planning and ongoing operations.
The Adoption Exchange Association was founded in 1982. Because all children need families, the Adoption Exchange Association serves its members by stimulating innovative solutions, eliminating barriers, advocating, educating, and sharing excellent practice. The organization’s central goal is to assist and encourage our members nationwide as they find adoptive families for all children and youth who wait in foster care. In addition to The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids, AEA’s other initiatives include AdoptAir, which flies waiting children to meet families or participate in recruitment activities; publication of guidebooks for families and social workers that help eliminate adoption barriers; a monthly newsletter; a website for professionals and the public at www.adoptea.org; and bi-annual skills-building and networking conferences for members and other professionals.
If you would like additional information about this topic or to schedule an interview, contact: Barbara Holtan, Project Director of The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids at 410-933-5700 or bholtan@adopuskids.org.