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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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news

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