Wendy’s Wonderful Kids: Child-Focused Recruitment
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Wendy’s Wonderful Kids is the signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which is driven by a single goal: to find loving permanent homes for children who have been in foster care the longest. It is North America’s only national nonprofit charity dedicated solely to finding permanent homes for the more than 130,000 children in foster care.
Hillside’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiters are able to receive referrals on children in New York State who would benefit from having additional help in finding them a forever home. The WWK recruiters use a child-focused recruitment model that includes: initial referral, relationship building with youth, case record review, assessment of adoption readiness, adoption preparation, network building, diligent search and recruitment plan.
Over the last 25 years, the WWK program has helped facilitate successful adoptions of more than 7,000 youth. “Unadoptable” is unacceptable.
About this Program
Activities of the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter and implementation of the WWK Child-Focused Recruitment Model include:
- Recruiting new WWK referrals
- Meeting with the child’s caseworker
- Conducting an initial meeting with the child
- Meeting with the children at least once per month to build and maintain a trusting relationship
- Conducting a case record review
- Assessing the child’s adoption readiness
- Assisting the child with preparations for adoption
- Network-building for the child
- Developing a child-specific recruitment plan
- Conducting a diligent search of potential resources
- Facilitating the placement of the child in a pre-adoptive home
- Providing support throughout the placement process until the adoption is finalized
Eligibility
Children are eligible for the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids child-focused recruitment services if they are in the public foster care system and do not have an identified permanency resource, are in the process of being freed for adoption, have been freed for adoption, or have a permanency planning goal of adoption. The child may have a reunification goal or be in another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA) status.
All youth must be referred to the program by their counties of origin. Hillside’s WWK Recruiter can accept referrals from Onondaga, Monroe, Allegany, Steuben, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties.
Locations
Rochester Office
1 Mustard Street
Rochester, NY 14609
Syracuse Office
215 Wyoming Street
Syracuse NY 13204
Bath / Southern Tier Office
24 Liberty Street
PO Box 326
Bath NY 14810
Contact Information
Jami Millson, LMSW
Program Manager
585-256-7500
info@hillside.com
For details about this or any Hillside program, contact us 24 hours a day at 585-256-7500 or info@hillside.com
This Program Supported by a grant from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.