Press Releases
Press releases can be used to engage local media outlets, including television and radio stations, newspapers, magazines, community websites, and blogs to create awareness and attention for your agency or community’s National Adoption Month activities. The two press release templates below can be customized to fit your organization and the activities you wish to promote.
Tips:
- Distribute your release well in advance, allowing the media outlet time to prepare and plan
- Follow up with reminder phone calls and emails to provide background information and answer questions
- Ensure your activities are relevant to your audience by customizing your message to demonstrate the benefits to your community
- Review the Local Media Outreach page from AdoptUSKids
Sample National Adoption Month Press Release #1
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[(Agency Name and Event) to raise awareness of the need for forever families for teens in foster care]
CITY, STATE— November is National Adoption Month. In [State], there are more than [number of 15–18 year olds in foster care] 15–18 year olds in foster care. Many of these youth have spent many years in foster care and are seeking more permanent connections through adoption by a family or adult mentor. Supportive and committed relationships are critical in helping teens prepare and succeed as they enter adulthood. This year, National Adoption Month focuses on helping agencies build more targeted recruitment strategies and develop a continuum of services to support teenagers seeking permanency and the prospective families or adult mentors considering adoption of a young person, preparing for adoption, or in need of postadoption services. Supporting agencies in the work of identifying, informing, encouraging, and helping prospective adoptive families at every turn increases the odds more young people will find meaningful permanency.
[Provide a summary of the key information about your story, event, etc. This should be brief and answer who, what, when, where, and why. Include your organization's name and website.]
[Some examples of key information could include details of your organization's National Adoption Month kickoff event, what your organization is doing to raise awareness, or an upcoming prospective adoptive parent meeting or waiting child match-up event.]
[To provide relatable context, you may also include a story about how a local family was forged through adoption from foster care and how the questions and concerns about adopting teenagers were answered.]
[Insert a quote from your spokesperson or local political figure that encourages readers to participate in local National Adoption Month activities.]
[Provide a URL for more information, event details, and who to contact.]
Sample National Adoption Month Press Release #2
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[(Agency name)highlights the importance of finding adoptive families for teenagers in foster care]
November is National Adoption Month and [agency name (insert link to agency website)] is spotlighting the need for adoptive families for 15–18 year olds currently in foster care. In (name of town/State), there are (# of youth) who would like to find a permanent family. Having permanent family connections provides teenagers with the critical legal and emotional support that all young people need as they transition into adulthood and possibly continue their education, seek employment, start new relationships, and find their way.
[Agency name] is hosting [name of the event, date and time of the event, location of the event] to showcase [provide key information about the event, including speakers, reports, and activities that support adoption such as a prospective adoptive parent meeting or waiting child match-up event.]
National Adoption Month is an initiative sponsored by the Children's Bureau, in partnership with AdoptUSKids and Child Welfare Information Gateway. Each November, National Adoption Month brings awareness to the needs of children and youth waiting for a "forever family." This year the theme is building an effective local response system to support prospective families in the initial stages of considering a teen adoption—and the later stages of preparing for and adjusting to it—by offering support services at every step. Teenagers are often hard to place, but they are as much in need of permanency as younger children and risk exiting the foster care system without any legal or emotional ties. A young person bereft of any family ties lacks the foundational support and compass all youth need as they mature into adulthood.
The National Adoption Month website is dedicated to providing adoption and permanency-related resources and tips for youth and families, including families considering adoption and those who have already adopted. The website offers child welfare professionals suggestions for opening up the conversation with teenagers on why permanency with a family or adult mentor is so important and on how to engage them in the recruitment process so their needs and preferences are well represented. In addition, the website provides information on developing and supporting adoptive families through specialized training and helpful resources.
[Provide a URL for more information, event details, and who to contact.]
