I believe every child deserves a safe, permanent home.
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A Child is Waiting For a Family. You Can Help.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national, nonprofit public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the number of adoptions of children waiting in North America’s foster care systems.
Children are placed in foster care after enduring abuse, neglect, parental drug use or other issues, and many have experienced significant trauma, grief and loss in their lives.
The priority of the foster care system is to keep families together. But when a judge has ruled that it is unsafe for a child to return to their family of origin, they need someone to step forward to adopt them.
children are lingering in foster care across the U.S.
of these young people age out of the system without a family every year.
youth will be homeless after age 18 without the support of a permanent family.
At one point, I thought I was going to be out on the streets.
How We Help
At the heart of our work is a commitment to understand the needs and lived experiences of the children and youth we serve, improve access for families who want to adopt from foster care and build an organization that supports the broader child welfare community.
Our strategic priorities and signature programs are grounded in research and created with a racial equity lens.
With help from our caring supporters and partners, we are urgently working to raise public awareness and expand the reach of our life-changing programs, including:
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids®
Using a model proven to be up to 3x more effective in finding permanent families for the longest-waiting children in foster care.
Adoption-Friendly Workplace
Promoting the importance of offering adoption and foster care benefits and providing resources to thousands of employers.
National Adoption Day
Raising awareness and recognizing the adoptions of 90,000+ children from foster care through this annual event.
How You Can Help
There are many ways to get involved and make a difference.
“The more you give to others, the more you get in return.”
Resources to Support the Adoption Journey
We offer a variety of resources for parents and professionals.
You’re Never Too Old for Family:
Em’s Story
16-year-old Em has a tough exterior. She said it’s her mask. She keeps her guard up … She doesn’t trust easily. And when she was placed in foster care for the third time as a teenager, she promised herself she’d never be hurt again.
