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10/30/2011

This year’s National Adoption Month campaign is built around five themes with tips and resources you can use before and after November to benefit children all year long who are waiting for families.

Build Capacity to Make Lasting Change

Use the resources below to honor National Adoption Month all year long.

• Support and Retain Families
• Diligently Recruit
• Work With Diverse Populations
• Proactively Find Families
• Facilitate Interjurisdictional Placements

In addition to using the resources listed above:

• Download the 2011 National Adoption Month Toolkit (PDF - 3 MB)
• Visit the U.S. Children's Bureau's official National Adoption Month 2011 website hosted by our partner Child Welfare Information Gateway
• Watch a recording of the 2011 National Adoption Month webinar highlighting new materials your agency can use to build capacity

Don’t work in child welfare but still want to help?

There are several ways you can contribute to this cause whether you’re part of the media, a prospective family, or a concerned citizen. Join the conversation

National Adoption Month is a coordinated effort between AdoptUSKids and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau and the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Support and Retain Families

• Today: Post FAQs and test links on your agency's website. Ensure families have access to the information they need about the adoption process.
   
• This Week: Review resources on family search and engagement compiled by the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections.
   
• This Month: Use the assessment tool Is Your Response System Family Friendly? (PDF - 234 KB) from the National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUSKids.

Diligently Recruit

• Today: Review our free resources from the National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUSKids highlighting ideas for diligent recruitment.
   
• This Week: Review data on the number and characteristics of children waiting in your agency, and then compare it with data on the race and ethnicity of the general population in your area to identify over-represented groups for targeting your recruitment efforts.
   
• This Month: Read this overview of the market segmentation process (PDF - 336 KB) to learn how to target recruitment efforts by reaching out to communities that reflect the children in foster care.

Work With Diverse Populations

• Today: Review the photos on your agency's website and in your outreach material. Do they reflect the diversity of families the agency is hoping to recruit?
   
• This Week: Use the tip sheet Moving Toward Cultural Competence: Key Considerations to Explore (PDF - 227 KB) from the National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUSKids to get examples on how to have staff assess and discuss ways to strengthen their their cultural competence.
   
• This Month: Find organizations and identify resources that provide information about working with diverse communities. Partner with them to help in recruitment.

Proactively Find Families

• Today: Set a time each week to discuss case file mining procedures. For examples on how to do this, see our list of child-specific recruitment strategies.
   
• This Week: Explore the value of doing good child assessment and prepration by using the Child and Youth Assessment and Preparation Module (PDF - 1.9 MB) from the National Resource Center for Adoption.
   
• This Month: Get creative! Show clips from AdoptUSKids' video The Road to Adoption and Foster Care (Flash - 1:45 hr.) at staff meetings. Talk about how your agency can improve permanency efforts.

Facilitate Interjurisdictional Placements

• Today: Watch and share AdoptUSKids' video Beyond Borders: Acheiving Child Permanence Across Geogrphaic Boundaries (Flash - 20:23 min).
   
• This Week: Identify workers who have experience with interjurisdictional placements and enlist them as a resource to their colleagues. Contact your State's Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) administrator to find out how many sending and receiving placements have occurred in your State.
   
• This Month: Hold a meeting to review and discuss interjurisdictional procedures and processes. Enlist staff at all levels in the workgroup to identify, analyze, streamline, and create policies, infrastructure, and contracting mechanisms.

National Adoption Month is a coordinated effort between AdoptUSKids and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau and the Child Welfare Information Gateway.