Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption Expands Foster Care Adoption Program to Puerto Rico
Columbus, Ohio — For the first time, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national, nonprofit public charity dedicated to finding permanent homes for children waiting in foster care, will begin implementing Wendy’s Wonderful Kids in Puerto Rico. Through this signature program, the Foundation supports the work of 549 adoption recruiters across the United States and Canada who serve children most at risk of aging out of foster care. This includes children over the age of 9, teenagers, children with special needs and siblings.
Partnering with Governor Jenniffer González Colón and the Department of the Family, the Foundation’s program will begin with four Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters in Puerto Rico. Using an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model, these adoption professionals will begin the diligent search for a permanent family within the network of adults the child already knows, including extended family members, who already care for them and can meet their needs.
The partnership, which begins April 1, was announced during a joint press event with members of the Puerto Rican government and the Foundation. According to the Department of the Family in Puerto Rico, more than 160 children are waiting to be adopted from foster care on the island.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to implement its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program in Puerto Rico. This collaboration enhances our Administration’s commitment to making a lasting difference in their lives, and together, we will amplify our efforts to turn this vision into reality,” said Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of the Family Suzanne Roig Fuertes, MSW.
In addition to philanthropic support, the Foundation will provide training and technical assistance and around the child-focused recruitment model for the new Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters and supervisors in Puerto Rico as well as for the Department of the Family staff. In addition, the Foundation will provide training on legal permanency for a portion of the Department of the Family staff.
Of the youth served by the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program in the U.S. and Canada:
- 14 is the average age
- Youth have an average of 5.6 previous placements
- 73% have at least one special need
- 78% are part of a sibling group
- Prior to being referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, 87% had minimal or no adoption recruitment efforts on their behalf
With help from the Foundation’s generous donors, more than 15,000 children and youth have been adopted through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids across the United States and Canada. A rigorous, five-year evaluation by Child Trends in the U.S. revealed that children served by the program are up to three times more likely to be adopted.
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.
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