Wendy's Wonderful Kids®

Supporting Adoption from Foster Care

Through our signature program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption supports the hiring of adoption professionals, known as recruiters, who are dedicated to finding permanent families for the longest-waiting children in foster care.

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How Recruiters Help

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.

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids adoption professionals use an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model to find the right family for every child in their care. A rigorous, five-year national evaluation revealed that children referred to the program are up to 3x more likely to be adopted.

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U.S. and Canada Program Results to Date

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550+

adoption recruiters trained

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3x

Implementing a model proven by research to be up to 3x more effective at serving the longest-waiting children in foster care

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14000+

adoptions

Child-Focused Recruitment Model

While other types of adoption recruitment can be successful, child-focused recruitment has been proven to be the most effective approach to achieving permanency for the program’s focus population of teenagers, children with special needs and siblings who are too often overlooked.

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids professionals begin their search within a child’s familiar circles of family, friends and neighbors, and then reach out to the communities in which they live. Achieving permanency may include adoption or legal guardianship. And if family reunification is a safe option, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter will explore it … always.

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters are committed to building a trusting relationship with the young people they serve, helping them unpack fears and misconceptions about adoption.

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters work with smaller caseloads of 12–15 children to ensure that every child receives the time, resources and support they deserve.

Explore research showing the impact of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids and the Foundation’s evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model.

Who We Serve

Of children currently served by Wendy’s Wonderful Kids in the United States and Canada:

  • 89%

    Are older than age 8

  • 35%

    Have had six or more placements

  • 23%

    Have been in foster care more than four years

  • 85+%

    Had minimal or no foster care adoption recruitment efforts on their behalf before being referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids

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Expansion Timeline

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    In 2004, the Foundation begins piloting the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program in seven cities across the U.S.
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    In 2006, the Foundation establishes Wendy's Wonderful Kids' footprint in all 50 states and D.C. and launches in Canada, with the first grant issued in Ontario.
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    In 2007, Child Trends begins conducting a national evaluation, studying the outcomes for youth in foster care served by Wendy's Wonderful Kids.
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    In 2011, the Foundation releases the findings of that rigorous evaluation of Wendy's Wonderful Kids, revealing that children served by the program are up to three times more likely to be adopted.
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    In 2012, backed by rigorous evidence of the program’s effectiveness, the Foundation secures a significant public-private partnership with the state of Ohio to scale Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. The model for this partnership leads the way for the Foundation’s scaling expansion across the U.S. and Canada.
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    In 2017, the Foundation launches an aggressive, multi-year business plan to expand the reach of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
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    In phase one of this plan (2017-2020), statewide expansion begins in Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington.
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    In phase two (2021-2026), the Foundation is currently working to deepen and sustain our impact in phase one scaling states and pursue expansion in at least 10 more states in the near term. To date in phase two, new scaling states include Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia.

Supporting Child Welfare Professionals
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters work with a diverse village of child welfare professionals to achieve permanency for the young people they serve. The Foundation is committed to supporting all professionals in this life-changing work.

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