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Jahmie grew up in a tumultuous environment, experiencing abuse, neglect and pervasive drug use that made his home unsafe. At 13, he was placed in foster care and separated from his siblings. He spent the next five years moving in and out of different foster homes before aging out of the system.

Jahmie found temporary safety and support in transitional housing, where he was able to learn basic life skills, like cooking and budgeting. But he says these services can’t take the place of a permanent family.

“The hardest part of aging out of foster care [is not] having people who will support you, sign certain things for you, help you get certain resources, help you in your time of need, having people to fall back on and things like that,” Jahmie shared.

Every year, nearly 20,000 youth, like Jahmie, age out of foster care in the United States. With no one to turn to for support, 1 in 5 will be homeless after age 18 and only 50% will be employed at age 24.

A Nationwide Solution: Wendy’s Wonderful Kids^®

To help address the alarming number of youth lingering in foster care, only to leave the system without a permanent family, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption created the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program in 2004.

Through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, the Foundation provides grants to public and private agencies to support the hiring of adoption professionals, known as recruiters, who are committed to achieving legal permanency for children most at risk of aging out of foster care — youth ages 9 and older, children with special needs and sibling groups. Achieving permanency may include adoption or legal guardianship. If family reunification is a safe option, it is explored … always.

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters use an evidence-based, child-focused model to find the right family for every child. In 2011, Child Trends released findings from a rigorous, five-year evaluation comparing Wendy’s Wonderful Kids to business as usual in child welfare across the United States. This research showed that children referred to the program are up to 3x more likely to be adopted.

Backed by evidence of the program’s effectiveness, the Foundation began implementing a multi-year expansion plan to ensure there are enough recruiters to serve the program’s focus population across the United States. These professionals work with smaller caseloads to ensure each child receives the time, resources and support they deserve.

How to Refer Children to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids

If you are serving a child waiting in foster care without an identified family placement for legal permanency, who is age 9 or older, a teenager, a child with special needs and/or part of a sibling group, they may be eligible to have a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter become an additional resource supporting their path to permanency.  

View a list of agencies partnering with the Foundation to implement Wendy’s Wonderful Kids.

Reach out to the agency in your area from the list above with the child’s information to complete the referral, as criteria may differ by jurisdiction. Additionally, judges may order, or attorneys may file, a request for the services of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters like any other service they would order on behalf of a youth in foster care. Any professional working with the child can make a referral to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, but the recruiter must get consent from the child’s custodial agency (typically through the caseworker) to begin child-focused recruitment services.

The Foundation is urgently working to expand the reach of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids to serve the number of youth waiting in our focus population across the United States, including Puerto Rico, as well as Canada.

Partners in Permanency: The Role of Recruiters 

After a child is referred to Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, the recruiter will connect with the caseworker to gather more information about that child — including requesting access to review their entire case file (physical and electronic). During this time, the recruiter will walk through the child-focused recruitment model and their role in partnering with the child’s team to achieve legal permanency. 

No action will be taken by the recruiter without first communicating with the child’s custodial agency. Many experienced recruiters have mentioned their relationship with the caseworker is as important to success as the relationship with the child.

After these initial meetings, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters will begin to implement the child-focused recruitment model.

What is the Child-Focused Recruitment Model?

• Initial Child Referral: Introduce the recruiter’s role to the caseworker and learn basics about the child.
• Case Record Review: Take a deep dive into the child’s case record to find significant people from the past.
• Relationship with Child: Meet with the child monthly to build trust and understand their needs.
• Diligent Search: Identify and contact people with whom the child has had a relationship.
• Network-Building: Work with all people involved with the child.
• Assessment of Adoption Readiness: Determine if the child has needs to address before moving forward with adoption.
• Adoption Preparation: Assure the child is ready for the adoption process and the family is ready to meet the child’s needs.
• Recruitment Plan: Customize a comprehensive plan to find a permanent family that is right for the child based on their needs.

Working together, we can make permanency possible for every child waiting in foster care … no matter their story.

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