PCSAO Recruitment Guide

www.pcsao.org

Fall, 2011

Introduction 2What is recruitment? 3What is retention? 3How to assess your county’s needs for recruitment? 3Challenges or obstacles you might encounter 4How much funding do you have? 4How to do recruitment with no funding? 4Types of recruitment 5-7Recruitment Materials & Resources 8Links 9How to develop an action plan? 10Agency inquiry process 11-12Post-licensing support for foster families 12Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 13What should be in an information packet sent to inquirers? 14-15

Table of Contents

Sample of an inquiry packet from Summit County.

Introduction

From a public/community relations perspective, General Recruitment is your agency’s opportunity to help your community address the need for and be supportive of its foster parents. Most people in your community may not be foster or adoptive parents but may be in a position to encourage a coworker, friend or relative who is interested in fostering. The way you describe the children in foster care and the need for people to help take care of them frames peoples’ perception of “who the kids are” and “who the foster parents are.”

In designing your general recruitment campaign, be attuned to realism. Avoid using photos, images, and descriptors that are different from what foster parents will actually experience. Think through the descriptive words you use and think about how they are contributing to your community’s understanding of the foster care system. The use of images (a scared child, a crying child, a child with bruises) might also create a perception that does not match the reality of the children who need foster care.

Finally, think through the urgency of your general recruitment message. If your ad says that you need foster parents NOW and that message gets people to call in with a shared sense of urgency, how will they react when they learn that the actual licensing process could take several months?

2 PCSAO Recruitment Guide

Foster Parent Banquet Program -

Stark County

1/4 page flyer - Athens County


What is recruitment?Recruitment is the act of educating members of the community about Foster Care and Adoption for purposes of finding temporary and permanent family placements for children in agency custody. It is also the act of advocating on behalf of a particular child to recruit prospective adoptive families that meet the child’s specific needs.

What is retention?Retention is the act of keeping families who have already entered the foster care and adoption system fully informed and actively engaged with your agency on an ongoing basis.

How to assess your county’s needs for recruitment?No matter how large or small, each county needs some sort of recruitment program. However the specific size and scope of this program, and the specific types of recruitment activities necessary can

best be determined through an analysis of the number of children who come into care and their unique characteristics, including, but not limited to age, gender, race/ethnicity and special needs – as well as a similar analysis of the potential pool of families to recruit from. The pool of prospective adoptive families should be cultivated to meet the needs of the waiting children.

Billboard - Ashtabula County

Challenges or obstacles you might encounter?Organizational challenges or obstacles may include:

lack of funding; lack of staff (especially staff with special skills needed to recruit, such • as marketing and public relations)lack of organizational commitment to the need for recruitment• lack of time for staff to develop and consistently implement an effective recruitment • programcommunity weaknesses such as poverty, transience, lack of education, lack of • supportive resources, etc.

How much funding do you have?The specific level of funding available for recruitment depends on each county’s individual budgetary situation and the level of organizational commitment to making aggressive recruitment a priority. Local counties should aggressively lobby state and federal government representatives to make funding foster care and adoption recruitment a priority.

How to do recruitment with no funding? Having money to print attractive materials is great; however, recruitment is ultimately about building relationships with your community and fostering understanding for kids in care.

While having funding would of course enable a county to undertake a comprehensive recruitment campaign which could include paid advertising, direct mail and other such tactics, there are some recruitment techniques that require little or no funding. These include free media through proactive media relations, e-communications and social media. Outreach activities may also be very cost effective, such as having a recruitment presence at various community events or at local libraries, churches, etc. In addition, it may be possible to fund various recruitment events and activities totally (or in part) through aggressive solicitation of business sponsors. Develop personal relationships with local clergy and seek out opportunities to work within their congregations to develop potential foster/adoptive families.

Stark County Adoption Calendar


Types of recruitment

General recruitment:This involves reaching mass audiences through media and public outreach programs. These include public events, public service announcements, billboards, foster care and adoption fairs, booths at county fairs or sporting events, etc. This is the most common recruitment effort.

Pitfalls: Many times unsuitable applicants respond since the recruitment is generic and not child-specific. Many times the applicants aren’t willing to take the specific kinds of children that are in need of families. Cultural issues can also impact the outcome. For example, the advertisement may be appealing to a middle-class white family but not to a Latino family.

Best usage: When attempting to raise your agency’s public profile and broaden community awareness of the need for foster families.

Specific examples from Athens County include:

Flyers for information meetings at • libraries, community centers, gas stations, etc.Information meetings allow for contact • with an agency staff person and the ability to get questions answered.Focusing on different professions by • sending coloring pages, fliers, and other information about your agency to day care centers, pediatrician offices, veterinary offices, etc.

Coloring Page - Athens County

Street Banner - Athens County

Billboard and bus sign - Stark County


Child Specific/Sibling GroupsThis involves a search for relatives, close friends, or kinship providers that the child already knows. It can also be used when the agency has identified a child that is difficult to place due to difficult behaviors, impairments or other conditions that may require special care.

Pitfalls: Individualized planning is critical and this can get very costly.

Best usage: When attempting to locate a family for a specific child. For example, if you are trying to find a family for a medically fragile child, you may want to contact support groups and associations related to the condition or disease. Likewise, identify the child’s special skills, talents or hobbies. For instance, if the child loves horses you could do child specific recruitment by reaching out to a local Horsemanship Group or a ranch.

TargetedThis focuses on the specific kinds of children in need of temporary and permanent homes in your community. It also involves reviewing the types of families your agency has licensed and /or approved. Based upon these assessments, your agency will target its recruitment efforts on the need. The focus is on the kinds of children available to be fostered or adopted and targeting the types of families needed for these children.

Pitfalls: Need to have accurate data regarding the children and families, as well as the ability to research the data. This can be time consuming depending on your agency’s data structure.

Best usage: This has been proven to be most effective in locating the right kinds of families for particular children that need to be placed. This type of recruitment effort can be child-specific and yet go to a

mass market. For example, if the majority of children in your agency’s care are

adolescents, recruitment efforts can target families willing to care for older children. (ex: local schools, churches, gyms, community centers).

Direct mailer targeted for sibling groups

Direct mailer targeted for teens


With some research, you can get a solid picture of the potential families in your community. Most families have different financial means, religious and cultural identities, educational backgrounds, as well as lifestyles, ages, values, housing circumstances (rent vs. own), and organizational memberships. Information can be obtained from www.census.gov or local resources.

Child CenteredChild Centered Recruitment is an aggressive approach to find permanent families for waiting children. Child Centered Recruiters (CCRs) advocate for biological relative connections (when safe), work with youth who have concerns about permanency and recruit families for adoption. Relatives are located by means of asking the children who they remember, mining the child’s records, utilizing Internet search engines, Facebook, writing letters to relatives asking for other names, etc. CCRs advocate for permanency by providing support and information to the case manager, treatment teams and/or the court.

CCRs take creative approaches to present the youth for adoption through use of videos, information packets, flyers, etc. CCRs work one-on-one with the youth on their lifebooks, recruitment materials, and concerns about reconnecting with their biological family and/or their openness to adoption. CCRs help families, workers and youth through the adoption process as additional support.

Summit County Adoption Month newspaper insert

Large vinyl banner ~Athens County


Recruitment Materials & ResourcesThe variety of materials (tactics) available to recruiters is endless.

Direct mailings• Paid advertising in print/electronic/transit media• Positive media relations• Agency and recruitment web sites• Internet advertising• Foster Care and Adoption information meetings• Exhibits at community events (including Foster Care and • Adoption Month events)Information dinners• Mixers (bowling mixers, virtual mixers, etc.)• Annual adoption calendar• Inquiry packets• Brochures/flyers• Promotional items (with the inquiry line/web address clearly • displayed)

Web-based channels, including AdoptUSKids are child-specific and no cost to your agency. If you have community or civic groups that have web sites, ask about posting info about a child on the site (i.e., a site for the autism community might be willing to feature info on an autistic child who needs a family).

A special audience needing a unique approach is the faith-based community. In Summit County, a dedicated ‘tool kit’ tailored to church leaders and their congregations has been very helpful in reaching this motivated audience. Even without significant funds, caseworkers can establish relationships with local clergy and ask for opportunities to speak to congregants at meetings (women’s group, men’s group, etc.) or from the pulpit. Create bookmarks with information on the copier and get permission to distribute them at the church. Agencies with a recruiting budget could consider having hand fans made with recruiting information (which tend to run about $1 apiece).

Stark County Internet skyscraper ad


Each agency’s needs, budget and available staff time will dictate what materials to use.

Here are samples from Summit County:

Direct Mail – the graphics used invoke the message that the agency needs families to care for teens and siblings.

Foster Care & Adoption Information Meetings – held approximately every two weeks throughout the year at various locations in the community (libraries, churches, community centers, etc.). Promotional ads run in corresponding daily and weekly newspapers; flyers are distributed to school students in corresponding neighborhoods (school districts); and event information is prominently featured on the agency’s web site.

Recruitment for Specific Groups – 2012 Adoption Calendar features children in PC age 12+; multi-page Adoption Insert (inserted into a newspaper or magazine) features children in PC age 12+; monthly child feature in a daily or weekly newspaper; or Teen Adoption Mixer (or Virtual/Video Mixer).

Internet Marketing

* Facebook * County websites * Twitter * YouTube * Reach Local (Internet Advertising and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Links * AdoptUsKids * Agency websites * Ohio Adoption Photo Listing (OAPL) * Wendy’s Wonderful Kids * NACAC (North American Council on Adoptable Children) * Northeast Ohio Adoption Services (NOAS)


How to develop an action plan?

Start by identifying the following:

What are your needs (i.e., # homes needed, types of children needing homes, etc.)?• What are your goals?• Who is your target audience? Define by demographics: age, gender, race, zip code, • income level, etc.Who are your supporters?• Who/what are your detractors?• What assets are available to you?• What hurdles exist?• What strategies can you use to reach your target audience?• What tactics are effective in reaching your target audience?• How will you measure your success/failure?• Foster Care/Adoption Recruitment Plan-ODJFS requirement•

You may also wish to view the recruitment plans and strategies for the different counties in SACWIS.

How long should the action plan cover?

Typically such recruitment/marketing plans cover a calendar year for purposes of event planning, media buying, mailings, special events, etc.

Athens County Children Services uses a one year calendar format (example: July 2011-June 2012) to correlate with the fiscal year of spending our recruitment money. They divide their action steps up by month, to help guide and prepare for projects.

Summit County suggests a 12 month campaign/plan is not possible or feasible, then focus recruitment activities at key times of the year:

April - Child & Family Awareness Month/Child Abuse Prevention Month• May – National Foster Care Month• September – Kinship Appreciation Month.• November – National Adoption Awareness Month•

Ashtabula County focuses on campaigns around our Foster Parent Trainings and the same four key months of the year.


Agency inquiry processHere are the seven steps in the process in Summit County: 1. Make an inquiry (typically via phone/internet) which results in a complete packet of material being sent. NOTE: It is very helpful to have a dedicated ‘Inquiry Phone Line’ in order to ensure quick, appropriate response to such phone inquiries and to track the source of the call to measure success of recruitment vehicles)2. Attend the required pre-service training; 3. Fill out an application 4. Have a home study completed 5. Identify and select a child for placement; 6. Pre-placement of a child in the home7. Post-placement of a child in the home.

Here is how Athens County describes its inquiry process:

1. INQUIRYProspective foster and/or adoptive family contacts Athens County Children Services (ACCS) for information and talks to the Recruiter from the Placement Unit. Within seven (7) days, an information packet containing handouts about children available for adoption and the foster care and adoption process is sent, with a cover letter noting the next Information Meeting.

2. INFORMATION MEETINGA brief overview of ACCS and specific information about the Adoption and Foster programs, including requirements for each. Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended.

3. REGISTER FOR CLASSESThis can be done at the Information Meeting or by calling the Recruiter at ACCS. Classes are free and are available at numerous sites across Southeast Ohio. ACCS hosts pre-service classes 2-3 times per year.

4. PRE-SERVICE TRAININGAttendance at 36 hours of pre-service training is mandatory. Information about the date and time for classes will be provided to you in the information packet, and available upon request.

5. APPLICATIONProspective foster and/or adoptive family completes an application and submits it to the Recruiter. Applications and other additional paperwork are provided during pre-service training and are also available upon request.


6. HOME STUDYAfter we receive your completed application, an assessor is assigned and will contact your family to begin the home study process. The home study process includes:

* Interviews with and medical evaluations of all household members * Fire Inspection by agency approved inspector and home safety audit * Reference checks * Review of applicant’s child care arrangements * Assessing applicant’s discipline philosophy * Applicants self-assess what child they would want to parent * Credit check – optional * Criminal background checks on all adult household members (BCI & FBI checks) * Copies of marriage and divorce certificates * Proof of vehicle insurance is required and a driving record check * Financial statement, verification of income, tax returns and copies of utility bills

Some of these items will need to be turned in with your application. As you move forward in the process, this will be explained in more detail.

7. DECISIONIf you meet all foster care requirements, ACCS will send its recommendation to the State for licensing as a foster home. If you are seeking to be approved for adoption, ACCS makes the decision as to whether or not to approve your home for adoption. Should ACCS deny recommendation for receiving a foster license or for approval as an adoptive home, the applicant(s) can withdraw from the process, or appeal the agency’s decision.

ACCS maintains a database of all inquiries (local, out of state, in state, child specific)

Includes: Last Name, First Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone #, Inquiry Date, Date Packet Sent, Interest (FC, A, FTA), School District, Race/Ethnicty, Attend Information Meeting, 2nd Notice sent, Attend Preservice, Application Received, Were they Licensed/Approved, Media Response

Post-licensing support for foster familiesAfter licensing support will look different for each county, based on services and staff! In Summit County’s experience one of the most critical areas of post-licensing support for foster families is communication. This includes responding promptly and efficiently to phone calls from foster families (and providing appropriate community linkages when requested) as well as regular communication (through a monthly Foster Care & Adoption newsletter). Periodic surveys and/or focus groups of foster families is helpful to learn what issues are important to them and to find out what additional services and supports may be needed. Finally, showing foster families the agency’s appreciation is very important and an annual recognition event (during Foster Care month in May) is a good vehicle to accomplish that.


Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994As Amended by the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/mepa94/mepachp1.htm

MEPA-IEP is one of several recent federal initiatives and laws aimed at removing the barriers to permanency for the hundreds of thousands of children who are in the child protective system. The specific intentions of MEPA-IEP are to:

decrease the length of time that children wait to be adopted, • facilitate the recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents who can meet • the distinctive needs of children awaiting placement, and eliminate discrimination on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of the child or • the prospective parent.

To achieve these goals, MEPA-IEP has three basic mandates:

It prohibits states and other entities that are involved in foster care or adoption • placements, and that receive federal financial assistance under title IV-E, title IV-B, or any other federal program, from delaying or denying a child’s foster care or adoptive placement on the basis of the child’s or the prospective parent’s race, color, or national originIt prohibits these states and entities from denying to any individual the opportunity • to become a foster or adoptive parent on the basis of the prospective parent’s or the child’s race, color, or national originIt requires that, to remain eligible for federal assistance for their child welfare • programs, states must diligently recruit foster and adoptive parents who reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the children in the state who need foster and adoptive homes.


What should be in an information packet sent to inquirers?

Athens County Children Services sends the following packet to inquirers:

All Inquiries:

_____ Cover Letter

_____ Agency brochure

Foster Care Inquiries:

_____ Foster Care Welcome

_____ Foster Parenting Is It Right For You? Brochure

_____ Financial information

Adoption Inquiries:

_____ Adoption Policies and Procedures

_____ Adoption Process: Where Do We Go From Here?

_____ Ohio Adoption Guide (ODJFS)

_____ Ohio Subsidy Guide (ODJFS)

_____ We’re Glad You Asked About Adoption brochure

Foster to Adopt Inquiries:

_____ Foster to Adopt Placements Brochure

Foster AND Adoption Inquiries:

_____ Thinking About Becoming a Foster Parent or Adopting a Waiting Child? (ODJFS)

_____ Adoption and Foster Care Stats

_____ Licensing/Approval Process


_____ Schedule of Classes

_____ ACCS Magnet

_____MEPA Standards of Conduct and Non-discrimination Requirements for Foster Care and Adoptive Placements

_____ Children in Athens County Waiting for Forever Families brochure

Summit County utilizes a one-pocket folder that contains step-down sheets with detailed information. The folder itself is designed with general information about the agency. There is a die-cut slit in the pocket for the Recruitment DVD. The step-down sheets are as follows:

* Pre-Service Training Schedule – typically offer six series each year * FAQs * How to Become a Foster or Foster-to-Adopt Parent (step-by-step process) * Adoptive Parenting (explanation, qualifications, needs, etc.) * Foster Parenting (explanation, qualifications, needs, etc.) * Waiting Children (explains families can view child profiles on the agency’s website) * Message from Executive Director


PCSAO Recruitment Guide

Documents

Transcript of PCSAO Recruitment Guide