Meeting Diligent Recruitment Requirements

Diligent recruitment means going beyond general recruitment. It involves taking an active, strategic approach in recruitment of foster and adoptive families, which includes:

• Using data to inform recruitment efforts
• Building community relationships
• Developing specialized recruitment strategies for various populations of children, youth, and families
• Working effectively and in culturally competent ways with diverse communities
   

To help you develop strategic approaches to recruitment, we offer a wide range of free recruitment and retention resources to both public and private agencies, and free consulting services for public agencies.

You can also find ideas to help you expand your pool of foster, adoptive, and kinship families by learning more about the materials and strategies being developed by the Children’s Bureau’s Diligent Recruitment Grantees.

Federal Requirements for States

Each State must provide for the diligent recruitment of foster and adoptive parents as part of its Title IV-B State Child and Family Service Plan (CFSP). States must also be in compliance with the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA), as amended, meaning that States must have a comprehensive strategy for recruiting prospective parents who reflect the race and ethnicity of children in foster care who need homes. Find out more about how diligent recruitment requirements relate to MEPA by reading "Section 4.1 MEPA/IEAP, Diligent Recruitment" of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau's Child Welfare Policy Manual.

The National Resource Center for Adoption has valuable resources for child welfare agencies on MEPA, including:

• Multiethnic Placement Act curriculum
• Video presentation about MEPA