Foundation focused on finding permanent homes for children who have been in foster care the longest
Columbus, Ohio — The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national nonprofit public charity, is proud to announce that more than 1,000 children have been adopted from foster care in Florida through its signature program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids®.
Through this program, the Foundation provides funding to support the hiring of recruiters who implement an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model. A rigorous, five-year national evaluation comparing Wendy’s Wonderful Kids to business-as-usual in child welfare revealed that a child served by the program is up to 3x more likely to be adopted.
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids has been operating in Florida since 2004, and currently, 14 recruiters are employed by eight child welfare agencies throughout the state. These adoption professionals work with smaller caseloads of children, nearly 86% of whom are over the age of 9, and nearly 30% have had 10 or more placements in the foster care system prior to being referred to the program.
“Foster care is meant to be temporary, yet these youth have lingered in care for many years,” Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. “We are thankful to be partnering with a network of committed child welfare agencies who are dedicated to finding the right family for every waiting child in their care. Together, we will continue finding safe, permanent homes for more children lingering in Florida’s foster care system, giving them the best possible opportunity for a bright future.”
The average age of the youth currently being served by the Foundation’s program in Florida is 13 and on average have been in foster care for more than three years.
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About the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity dedicated to finding permanent homes for the more than 140,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. Created by Wendy’s® founder Dave Thomas who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns and innovative grantmaking. To learn more, visit davethomasfoundation.org.
