FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, November 6, 2003
Contact: Chris Downing
ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215
HHS Honors 30 Groups, Individuals
for Adoption Excellence
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced 30 Adoption Excellence Award
winners who contributed to increasing the number of foster children placed in
permanent homes.
"These honorees have truly gone the extra mile to make a positive difference
both for the children who need help and for our country as a whole," Secretary
Thompson said. "By promoting adoption, these individuals and organizations
are lighting the way for our country as we work to rebuild the lives of foster
children."
Given annually since 1997, the awards honor states, local agencies, private
organizations, courts, businesses, individuals and families for their accomplishments
and efforts to increase the adoptions of foster children. The awards grew out
of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which provided financial incentives
for states to increase adoptions, made safety the paramount consideration for
determining placement and mandated swifter time frames for permanent placement
decisions.
In fiscal year 2002, some 50,000 children were adopted from public child welfare
agencies. An estimated 126,000 children in public foster care are waiting for
adoptive homes. Most of these children have special needs, such as a history of
maltreatment; physical, mental or learning disabilities; are older (between 7
and 16 years old); or are part of a sibling group.
The award winners were chosen by a committee representing non-profit adoption
agencies, child welfare and adoption advocates, adoptive parents, foundations,
the business community and state and federal offices.
"The Adoption Excellence awards are an important way to recognize outstanding
achievement in providing stable, loving homes for children in foster care,"
said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., assistant secretary for children and families. "In
this season of giving thanks, we are proud to demonstrate our sincere appreciation
for the promise of a better life these honorees have given these children. It
is a privilege to salute them."
The winners by category are:
Increased adoptions
Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption Network, Harrisburg, Pa.
The Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN) a network of public and private agencies
and organizations, contributed to a 335 percent increase in adoptions from 1993
to 2002. SWAN also increased the number of minority adoptions, increased recruitment
of families for older children, and increased adoptions of children with special
needs.
Increased permanency for children with special needs
Child Welfare League of America, Washington, D.C.
The Child Welfare League, a national leader in adoption since 1920, educates professionals
and the public and equips agencies to increase adoption quality and quantity.
The league also holds conferences, provides nationwide technical assistance, issues
publications and promotes collaboration among agencies. It currently serves as
a partner with the Adoption Exchange Association on AdoptUSKids, the national
Web site linking foster children with adoptive parents.
Family Services of Central Florida, Leesburg, Fla.
Family Services of Central Florida, a faith-based social service agency, is an
affiliate of Central Baptist Children's Home, founded in 1985. In its first full
year of providing services, Family Services was the only private agency in Florida
to show an increase over 2001 (206 percent) in final adoptions between July and
December. From July 2002 to June 2003, the agency achieved a 222 percent increase
in the number of finalized adoptions within their five-county target area.
Moore County Department of Social Services, Carthage, N.C.
The Moore County Department of Social Services has shown creativity and success
in reuniting children with their parents and recruiting adoptive families for
children who are not able to return home. Recruitment methods include presentations
at civic organizations; circulating profiles of available children; listing children
with state and national registries; and interviewing successful adoptive families
on radio.
Support for Adoptive Families
Adoption Rhode Island, Pawtucket, R.I.
Recognizing the need for leadership and collaboration to increase adoptions, Adoption
Rhode Island developed the Special Needs Adoption Coalition, involving professionals
from key public and private agencies. The coalition has created a Youth Speak
Out team, a mental health provider list, model legislation and a statewide work
group to facilitate adoption policies for the state. It has also developed innovative
recruitment practices and established after-adoption support services for parents.
Born in Our Hearts Adoption Ministry, Massillon, Ohio
Born in Our Hearts Adoption Ministry at River Tree Christian Church began a partnership
with the Foster Care and Adoption Department at Christian Children's Home of Ohio
(CCHO) in 2001. The ministry holds social gatherings with children and adults
considering adoption. Seven families have adopted 10 children and three children
are in foster placements with a high probability of adoption. The church has also
provided space for CCHO's Foster Care and Adoption Department and for a counseling
center.
The Collaboration to Camp A.L.W.A.Y.S., Modesto, Calif.
Camp A.L.W.A.Y.S. (A Life With Adoption Yields Success) is an adoption family
camp providing a no-cost camping experience for adoptive families. Nearly all
of the parents reported that they found the respite care helpful to them.
Adoptive Families Together, Boston, Mass.
Adoptive Families Together is a community-based organization that serves as a
resource for families from before until after they adopt a child. Primarily operated
by parent volunteers, it is a key resource and advocacy organization working on
behalf of adoptive families in New England.
Family Tree Adoption Connections, Danville, Ill.
Family Tree Adoption Connections supports adoptive families through family-oriented
activities, including parent educational support groups, parent retreats, family
weekend camps and activities for adopted youth and families.
Lund Family Center, Burlington, Vt.
Lund Family Center, a 110-year-old non-profit organization, has found permanent
adoptive homes for 80 children in the past three years. To accomplish its goals,
the Lund Family Center reaches out to families nationwide, partners with the "One
Church, One Child" program, uses public service advertisements and provides
life-long post-adoptive support to children and families.
Public Awareness
Lee Marshall, Huntsville, Ala.
A former foster child herself, Lee Marshall is a television news and radio journalist
who focuses on child welfare issues in Alabama. She has helped to increase public
awareness, significantly increasing permanency for the state's children. Due to
Ms. Marshall's efforts over the past several years, 996 children have been placed
in permanent families.
Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption Network, Harrisburg, Pa.
Pennsylvania's Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN) has changed public perceptions
and mobilized public action for the adoption of children from the child welfare
system. SWAN's activities include a toll free helpline receiving 50 to 75 calls
a week; a quarterly newsletter; a statewide family recruitment campaign, and a
television program featuring waiting children. During 2002, there were 2,020 finalized
adoptions in Pennsylvania.
Judge Stephen W. Rideout, Alexandria, Va.
Stephen Rideout is a Chief Judge of the Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations
District Court who has been involved in numerous national, state, and local initiatives
seeking to improve permanency for children, expedite adoptions, and create public
awareness of children in the foster care system needing adoptive homes. Most recently,
Judge Rideout introduced and implemented Adoption Saturday Celebrations (ASC)
in Virginia and to the Alexandria Model Court Project. ASC's are adoption ceremonies
to celebrate finalization; three celebrations have been held since 2002. A total
of 19 children and their families have participated in these celebrations. Judge
Rideout's implementation of ASC in Virginia has resulted in 15 additional localities
implementing ASC, with a total of 241 children and their families participating
in these events since 2002.
One Church One Child of Illinois, Chicago, Ill.
A leader in special needs adoption for 23 years, One Church One Child (OCOC) has
made thousands of community members aware of the need to adopt children. Some
15,000 Illinois children have been adopted as a direct result of the recruitment
and community outreach efforts of OCOC. An estimated 60,000 children have been
adopted nationally because of the program. OCOC also works with private agencies
to see that families are licensed and matched with waiting children. Currently
over 200 families have been mentored through the licensing process and are now
providing foster or adoptive care to children in Illinois
Chany Ockert and Andrew Harmon, Gardiner, Maine
While employed with A Family for Me, Chany Ockert and Andrew Harmon were recruitment
and development specialists. They have been instrumental in increasing the visibility
of children in foster care through public awareness campaigns and activities,
which have encouraged families and individuals to adopt Maine's special needs
children. Chany and Andrew have also involved the business community; worked with
churches and hospitals and utilized the latest technology to raise public awareness
of waiting children.
Oklahoma's NEWSChannel 8 KTUL-Tulsa ABC, Tulsa, Okla.
For the past 20 years, NewsChannel 8 has aired "Waiting Child" on a
weekly basis. More than 2,000 children have been placed as a result of this program.
In 2002, the television station increased its adoption awareness campaign of waiting
children through the Waiting Child Photography Exhibit, which was brought to the
Oklahoma Department of Human Services with the hopes of increasing the public's
awareness of the need for more adoptive homes. The Photo Exhibit featured 50 portraits
of waiting children, including single children, sibling groups and older children.
Approximately 15 of the children from the exhibit are now in adoption placements.
Individual and/or Family Contributions
Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao, Cambridge, Mass.
An adopted person herself, family therapist and author, Dr. Joyce Pavao has addressed
the challenges and needs of children whose lives are affected by loss, rejection,
and abandonment since the 1970s. Dr. Pavao is the founder and CEO of the Center
for Family Connections, which sees 1500 families a year. Her clinical models for
working with complex families are taught and practiced nationally and internationally.
Maria and Evan Thomas, Chicago, Ill.
Maria and Evan Thomas have adopted four children, three of whom are siblings.
In addition to being adoptive parents, Maria and Evan Thomas have also been outspoken
advocates for the adoption of other waiting children through their participation
in a variety of activities designed to raise public awareness of the benefits
of adopting older children.
Frances Lewis Johnese, San Jose, Calif.
Frances Lewis Johnese has been the manager of the California Department of Families
and Children Services, Adoption Bureau since 1995. Prior to her leadership, the
number of adoption finalizations for 1994 was 88. Since Ms. Johnese's management,
the number of finalizations has increased each year and as of June 2003, the Adoption
Bureau had accomplished 300 finalizations. She is currently the president of the
California Association of Adoption Agencies.
Susann Hoke, Reading, Pa.
As a public child welfare practitioner for 21 years, Susann Hoke has contributed
to achieving permanency in adoption for more than 800 children, recruiting military
families to adopt children, fighting for children's rights in the child welfare
system as an advocate, standing for them in legal hearings, attending treatment
and school meetings and making home visits.
Ronald R. Browder, Columbus, Ohio
Under the leadership of Ronald Browder, chief for the Bureau of Family Services,
the percentage of children adopted within a year of their date of permanent commitment
rose from 24 percent in fiscal year 1999 to 37 percent in fiscal year 2003. Mr.
Browder also developed and implemented the AdoptOHIO program, which enhanced the
collaborative efforts of public and private agencies. Mr. Browder has provided
foster care to teenagers, and has adopted three children with special needs.
Ada White, Washington, D.C.
For 25 years, Ada White has demonstrated exemplary achievement in child welfare
practice and administration at the local, state and national levels. In her current
position at the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), Ms. White provides leadership
for member agencies and the national adoption community. She provides guidance
to the National Advisory Committee on Adoption and represents CWLA on numerous
other boards and committees. She has also keynoted and presented workshops on
special needs adoption across the United States, as well as internationally.
Larry Schreiber, M.D., Taos, N.M.
After adopting 11 children, Dr. Larry Schreiber founded an adoption agency, Child-Rite,
Inc., for special needs children in 1985. Child-Rite is licensed to provide fee-less
adoptions to families in New Mexico and recruits and trains adoptive families.
With strong support from foundation grants and personal donations, Child-Rite
has placed over 200 children in permanent homes.
Judith A. Spooner, Louisville, Ky.
Judith Spooner began her work in child welfare in the late 1970s, establishing
one of the first foster parent support groups in Louisville, still meeting today.
Over the past 18 years Ms. Spooner has implemented innovative recruitment strategies
to recruit adoptive families for Kentucky's waiting children.
Mida Gilbert, Walkersville, Md.
Mida Gilbert and her late husband, Charles, became foster parents in Frederick
County in 1963. In addition to raising their four birth children, the Gilberts
provided foster care for more than 100 children. Mrs. Gilbert specialized in caring
for children with special needs. She also worked closely with numerous local resources
such as the Health Department, school system, Head Start, the Frederick County
Department of Social Services and private therapists.
Ana Dean, Minneapolis, Minn.
For the past seven years, Ana Dean has served as the Targeted Recruiter for State
Ward placements at Hennepin county Human Services. Ms. Dean's efforts with the
recruitment program have resulted in a steady increase in adoptions. Her events
at which prospective parents meet the county's waiting children have resulted
in at least two or three parent-to-child matches each time.
Delores J. Saini, Columbia, S.C.
Inspired by a schoolteacher who was a foster parent, Delores Saini became a foster
adoptive parent herself in 1983. She has welcomed more than 60 children to her
home while raising three birth children and a grandchild. She has also been active
in many organizations advocating for foster parents and children.
Philanthropy
Raley's Family of Fine Stores, Sacramento, Calif.
Raley's Family of Fine Stores has exhibited excellence in the field of adoptions
through its donations to Sierra Adoption Services and the children it serves.
The family-owned and operated grocery business started with one store in 1935
and has since expanded to 94 stores throughout Northern California, Nevada and
New Mexico. Thomas Raley, one of the business's owners, believes in "treating
others the way you want to be treated" and extends this to the children in
the community who hope for a family of their own.
Judicial or Child Welfare System Improvement
Juvenile Dependency Court, Santa Clara County Superior Court, San Jose,
Calif.
In 1985, with a population of 1.5 million, there were over 3,900 children under
the jurisdiction of the Santa Clara Juvenile Dependency Court. Today, under the
leadership of Presiding Judge Leonard Edwards, there are 2,850 children under
court supervision in an overall population of 1.8 million. During this same time
period, adoptions have increased from less than 30 to over 240 each year. The
keys to the court's success have been attributed to long term planning, a commitment
to change, strong judicial leadership and the implementation and utilization of
best practices.
Mecklenburg County Youth and Family Services (DSS), Charlotte, N.C.
Due in large part to innovative initiatives the agency has instituted, Mecklenburg
County Youth and Family Services (DSS) has experienced a dramatic increase in
the number of children leaving foster care through adoption over the past three
years. DSS has instituted team decision-making; shared parenting; neighborhood
based recruitment; recruitment teams; community awareness; in-home recruitment
parties and a tracking system that has reduced the backlog by 30 percent. From
2002 to 2003, 168 adoptions were completed, representing 30.5 percent of children
leaving custody.
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