Diligent Recruitment - Child Welfare Information Gateway

Diligent recruitment is the systematic process through which child welfare agencies recruit, retain, and support foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic diversity of children awaiting placements. Find resources below explaining best practices, implementation strategies, and practical examples related to diligent recruitment in agency settings.

Analysis of State 2020–2024 Foster and Adoptive Parent Diligent Recruitment Plans
Children Need Amazing Parents (2020)
Synthesizes data from 42 diligent recruitment plans and presents six key elements that lead to the effective recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents.

A CHAMPS Guide on Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention: Strategies for Developing a Comprehensive Program (PDF - 2,587 KB)
Children Need Amazing Parents (2019)
Provides useful information and suggestions for innovative, promising approaches to include in diligent recruitment plans. The guide encourages agencies to go beyond writing a plan, spurring new and improved programming resulting in agency-wide prioritization of foster parenting.

Diligent Recruitment of Families for Children in the Foster Care System

Author(s)

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Availability

Download (PDF - 753KB)

Year Published

2018

This synthesis summarizes the work and findings of a cluster of demonstration projects funded through the Children's Bureau discretionary grant program. The purpose of this grant cluster was to develop replicable models of systemic change and evidence-based models for placing children and youth with families who could provide permanent family connections. These grants funded multifaceted diligent recruitment (DR) programs for a range of resource families for children in public foster care systems. Resource families were defined as kinship, foster, concurrent , and adoptive families. Grantees conducted evaluations of their processes and outcomes and reported on their findings. This synthesis summarizes their lessons learned, successful strategies, and evaluation processes and results.

Diligent Recruitment of Families for Children in the Foster Care System: Challenges and Recommendations for Policy and Practice (PDF - 526 KB)
Melz, Killian, Graham, & James Bell Associates (2019)
Children’s Bureau & Administration for Children and Families
Explains how child welfare agencies can implement systematic recruitment and support in order to meet the needs of children and youth in foster care.

Diligent Recruitment Navigator
AdoptUSKids
Assists child welfare systems in developing or updating their diligent recruitment program. There are also supplements for specific populations and policies:

Diligent Recruitment Navigator Worksheet
Family First Supplement to the Diligent Recruitment Navigator (PDF - 112 KB)
LGBTQ Supplement to Diligent Recruitment Navigator (PDF - 119 KB)
Planning Tool for Tribes: A Tribal Supplement to the Diligent Recruitment Navigator (PDF - 96 KB)

The Multiethnic Placement Act 25 Years Later: Diligent Recruitment Plans (PDF - 462 KB)
Kalisher, Spielfogel, Shenk, & Edouard (2020)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation & U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Explores how diligent recruitment plans do and do not support efforts to increase the diversity among recruited foster and adoptive parents.

Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) and Diligent Recruitment Plan [Video]
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (2019)
Discusses components of MEPA and how these provisions, in tandem with diligent recruitment, affects each phase of recruiting, retaining, and supporting foster families.

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