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FRESNO
COUNTY Fresno County developed their CPYP Task Force by collaborating with the whole community, including social workers (e.g., Long Term, Wraparound, Emergency Response), mental health agencies (Families First), probation services, county mental health services.
In its work, the county has focused on partnerships:
Other activities include monthly half-day case update meetings and use of a lifelong connections meeting curriculum. Challenges include:
May 2006 Update: Wednesday's Child In January 2006, the Fresno County Department of Children and Family Services launched a child specific recruitment program to find adoptive homes for children residing in the foster care system. One arm of the child specific recruitment program is the Wednesday's Child project. Wednesday's Child is a means of educating the community about the need for adoptive homes for children residing in foster care through the media. The Department of Children and Family Services has partnered with KSEE 24 to introduce a child or sibling group who is in search of a "forever family" to the community each Wednesday during the station's sunrise and noon news broadcasts. In addition, the station has added a Wednesday's Child link to its website in which the community can view streaming video of the child/sibling group featured both in the current week and previous weeks' episodes. The children are featured while they are engaging in an activity that they enjoy. The hope is that by engaging the children in enjoyable activities that their personalities will shine and attract families who are interested in learning more about the children and who will consider adopting them.
Some agencies across the county boast that their Wednesday Child Programs have had a 70% success rate of finding a forever, adoptive family for the children featured. In Fresno County we are also seeing our first signs of success. As of March 7, 2006 only 6 children and/or sibling groups have been featured in the Wednesday’s child program and already a sibling group of two has been matched with a “forever” family who saw them on KSEE 24’s sunrise news broadcast on February 2, 2006. The girls Emily, age 6, and Angelica, age 8, were featured while spending the morning in a local pet store. Not only did they learn about a variety of pets they also got to hold snakes, turtles, kittens and puppies. The prospective foster family was already working with a private agency and had an approved adoptive home study. Because the family was already approved, they were able to begin visiting with the sisters within a week’s time and on February 23, 2006 Emily and Angelica were placed with their prospective adoptive family. Had it not been for the Wednesday Child news segment the family may never have learned about the sisters and a match might never have been made. The Fresno County Department of Children in Family Services is able to both license foster family homes and is an adoption agency. If you or somebody you know is considering foster care or adoption please feel free to contact our department via our foster/adoptive information number at 1-877-533-KIDS or feel free to e-mail Kathleen Miller, Resource Family Recruitment Coordinator, at kmiller@co.fresno.ca.us. To view recent Wednesday's Child profiles online, please visit KSEE 24's website at: http://www.ksee24.com/wchild/default.aspx. Working together we can make the difference in the life of a child!
County Documents Fresno County Finding Permanency for Youth Resource Handbook Permanency: A Commitment to Supporting Life Long Connections (PowerPoint)
Contact: 6/10/09 |
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The
Wednesday's Child concept arose across the nation in the 1970s as a child
specific recruitment program to find homes for children with special
needs. Some might believe that special needs are limited to children with
mental health, developmental, or medical issues but in reality it is an
appropriate term for most of the children in foster care. It is very
difficult for government agencies to find adoptive homes for children over
the age of 3 years old, children who are part of a sibling group and for
children of color regardless of age.