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Advocating For KidsBy Barb Tremitiere, Ph.D.Recruitment for Permanency When looking back at recruitment for adoption and foster care, over the years, successful programs don't always appear to be those that were the most expensive or that required the most media involvement. In fact, the most successful recruitment is that which is done by the foster parents and adoptive parents themselves – the “satisfied customers.” The reverse has also proven to be true. The most expensive recruitment campaign can be a failure if “the word on the street” is that the agency doing the recruitment fails to meet the needs of the families being recruited and fails to treat them with dignity. Successful recruitment starts with a program that sees the recruited potential families as peers, treats them that way, trains them for the task at hand, and provides the realistic supports that they need when the inevitable challenges occur. Then, families will come forth to work with the agency, as a team, in parenting the waiting children, and will also recruit others to do so. The Magic of the Media While flashy media presentations attract attention, there are some basic recruitment techniques, which have been even more effective over the years. •Someone Like Me It is a good idea to use families in TV and newspaper interviews who look like real people – not the Barbie and Ken “perfect family” variety. When we used single parents in interviews, single parents responded. When we used minority families or older families we had response from those types of families. Gay and lesbian families also opened the doors for calls from other such families. The faces of the families put forth in TV and newspaper articles and interviews can be major recruitment tools. Their very presence says clearly that all types of families are needed and acceptable, so you don't need to be afraid of rejection when you respond. (As one family said, in retrospect, I knew if the agency let them into the program, they would probably let me in too.”) • Radio Reaches Many people listen to the radio in their home or car all day long. Targeting the stations they listen to most gives them maximum exposure to your recruitment messages, usually several times a day. Next to families themselves, this was our next most effective recruitment tool. • Keeping the Promise Once recruited, it is extremely important to be responsive to a family's questions and requests from the very beginning of your interaction. One size does not fit all! Agencies need to be responsive to assure that all their recruited families are treated with dignity. • The Dignity of Decision-Making Most people seem to prefer making their own educated decisions on whether they wish to do foster care or adoption or a combination of these two. They like to decide what age child they wish to parent and whether or not they will take siblings. They need to have a realistic choice of acceptable behaviors, and most important of all, they need to have the ability to change their minds as they grow in knowledge and experience. No one should be “locked in” to his or her first choice. No one should be told that they have no choice.Putting together a family is like putting together a puzzle. The pieces need to fit for that particular family in order for the puzzle to be successfully completed, not spun into chaos because of an emergency placement made hurriedly on a Friday afternoon. To give parents the dignity of making choices that feel right for them is to give them the positive experiences that later allows them to recruit other families for an agency program. • The Reality of Realistic Support This is really very simple. As a worker, answer your phone calls promptly, and if you don't know the answer to questions, refer the family to someone who does! Being responsive to your families is, again, providing them the dignity and service they deserve. (I have seen parents do skits on the lack of the above. They were not flattering.) • Reputation and Recruitment Are Necessarily Linked Together You can't say one thing and do another – at least not for long. I know, from many years of personal experience, that when your agency reputation is positive, much of your recruitment becomes automatic from those families whom you serve well and who go on to bring in other potential families. • If You “Mean It,” They Will Come!Feature Articles in the
Summer 2001 issue:
Volume 1 Number 2
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