Public Awareness & Recruitment:
Our public awareness & recruitment services help shine a light on who the most vulnerable children in foster care and expose them to a new audience, many of whom might not have considered adoption before. Approximately 60% of the children featured are adopted.
These services include:
- Media Recruitment: The Center works with social service agencies to identify children for opportunities on television, radio, newspaper, and social media that attract over 3,500,000 listeners and viewers. These include "Wednesday's Child," a twice-weekly television segment on NBC10; weekly columns in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News, and The Philadelphia Tribune; weekly features on KYW Newsradio; and bi-monthly features in Parenting Special Needs Magazine.
- Meet the Children: The Center's website consistently features 30-40 children ready for adoption. The site allows prospective parents to fill out an inquiry form, and a Center Staff member follows up and provides the information and resources needed.
- AdoptUsKids: A national photo listing site, our staff register Delaware youth and monitor their profiles. We are the liaison between the families and workers and the point of contact for follow-ups.
- Match Events: Targeted toward older youth, the Center's Match Events allow prospective parents to interact with foster youth looking for a forever family. Match Events are proven to increase successful adoption rates for children who attend, with 73% receiving at least one inquiry from a family interested in adopting them.
Information & Referral:
The Center provides information and referrals to thousands of people annually through in-person and virtual Adoption 101 events, social media outreach and online services such AdoptMatch.
Child-Focused Recruitment:
The Center works with The Dave Thomas Foundation to bring its Wendy's Wonderful Kids program to the community we serve. Our Adoption Coordinators each work with a caseload of 12-15 children most at risk for aging out of the foster care system.
Cultural Events:
Cultural Events provide a day that is purely for the youth's enjoyment while supporting their community of care. These events build relationships among workers and youth as both parties are engaged in a day that is just for fun.
Emergency & Education Needs:
A fund created to help with immediate needs that arise, including care packages and school supplies.