Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption Expands Foster Care Adoption Program in Virginia
Columbus, Ohio — The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is excited to announce a partnership with the Virginia Department of Social Services and its implementation partners to scale the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids® program in the state.
Through this unique public-private partnership, the Foundation supports the hiring of adoption professionals, known as recruiters, who serve the longest-waiting children in foster care. Three recruiters are currently working in Virginia, and this expansion will bring 12 more who will be employed by seven implementation partners within the state.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a safe, stable and loving family. That’s why we are proud to partner with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to expand Wendy’s Wonderful Kids across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Their ability to deliver targeted, child-focused recruitment services ensures that youth receive the individualized attention they need to achieve permanency,” said Duke Storen, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services. “We look forward to working together to improve outcomes for children across the Commonwealth.”
Research shows that youth who age out of foster care without a family are more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment and other negative outcomes. Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters work with smaller caseloads as an additional resource on a child’s path to permanency.
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters begin their search for a permanent family by conducting a diligent search within the network of adults the child already knows, including extended family members, who already care for them and can meet their needs. A rigorous, national five-year evaluation revealed that children referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids are up to three times more likely to be adopted.
“At the heart of everything we do is an urgent drive to transition more children out of foster care and into loving, permanent families,” said Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. “When we work together with like-minded partners like the state of Virginia, something extraordinary happens … children’s lives are transformed, families are strengthened and communities are lifted.”
On average, children served by Wendy’s Wonderful Kids in Virginia are 15 years old, and 65% are part of a sibling group. They have been in foster care for an average of two and a half years and have had more than four foster placements.
To date, more than 16,000 children are in legally permanent homes through the Foundation’s program across the United States and Canada, including 274 finalizations in Virginia.
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 130,000 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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