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"The people we honor with these excellence awards are real heroes to the many children who need loving homes and families. In this week of Thanksgiving, we are truly grateful for their leadership and generous spirit," said Secretary Shalala. "By making these awards, the Clinton administration is recognizing in a small way the great courage, commitment and love these people have shown and the hope for a better life they've given these children."

Earlier this month President Clinton issued his annual proclamation designating November as National Adoption Month.

"Adoption 2002" is the HHS response to President Clinton's initiative to double by that year the number of children in foster care who are adopted or otherwise permanently placed. Many of the features of "Adoption 2002" were included in the Adoption and Safe Families Act, including providing unprecedented financial incentives for states to increase adoptions, putting the safety of children first when determining placement, and mandating swifter time frames for permanent placement decisions.

In 1999, states found permanent homes for 46,000 foster care children, exceeding the administration target of 41,000. The 1999 total represents a 28 percent increase over the 36,000 adoptions in 1998 and a 64 percent increase since 1996, when states found permanent homes for 28,000 children.

The winners of the award 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. Forty-eight nominations were reviewed; 12 winners were selected in eight categories.

"It is gratifying to once again confer this honor on a group of people who really are making a difference for children," said Olivia A. Golden, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. "They stand as examples of the many thousands of others across the country who are also involved in helping foster children move to permanent, stable and loving homes."

In addition to "Adoption 2002" and the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the Clinton administration has worked with the Congress in a bipartisan effort to promote adoption through providing tax credits to families, developing a national Internet site listing children and supporting innovative demonstrations through grants and waivers to states.

The winners by category are:

Increased Adoptions

Maine Department of Human Services, Bureau of Child and Family Services, Augusta, Maine. Over the past decade, Maine's Department of Human Services (DHS) has more than doubled the number of finalized adoptions of children from the foster care system. These adoptions, which averaged 102 annually during the 1990s, reached 223 in 1999. This success is attributed to several factors: continuing and strengthening partnerships with private sector adoption agencies; the new "Maine Child Welfare Informational System," which has enabled the agency to better track and document the flow of foster children through the continuum of child welfare system services; and the improved use of technology to increase the timely delivery of crucial services. To meet the need of support for more adoptive families, Maine has taken an innovative leadership role by implementing a child welfare demonstration project called the Maine Adoption Guides Project. This partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Casey Family Services and the University of Southern Maine is a comprehensive strategy for the delivery of post adoption services, designed to be replicated by other states and the private sector.

Increased Permanency for Children with Special Needs

Florida Department of Children and Families, Division of Family Safety, District 11 Adoptions Team, Miami. Using an innovative and creative team approach, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), District 11, has a record of successfully meeting and exceeding their adoption goals of permanency for children. As of May 2000, 238 finalizations had been completed, exceeding the target of 200 for the fiscal year and last year's accomplishment of 173. Of the 238 adoptions finalized, all fall under at least one category of special needs children. The team's success is based on the support it receives from a host of public and private agencies, community groups, and volunteers, including the courts, providers of emergency services, counselors, the media and the faith community.

Support for Adoptive Families

AFTER (Adoptive Family Therapeutic and Educational Resources), Monterey, Calif. Adoptive Family Therapeutic and Educational Resources (AFTER), a collaboration among four agencies, provides a regional array of services designed to meet the established needs of families who are adopting, or who have adopted, children in a four-county region of California (Santa Clara, San Mateo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz). AFTER offers six major service components that are critical to supporting adoptive families: crisis intervention and assessment, comprehensive adoptive family educational curricula, family peer support, clinical services and advocacy. AFTER has accomplished results in such areas as training therapists and CASA volunteers, educating and supporting families, and raising public awareness through the use of printed materials and a state-of-the-art Web site.

Georgia Department of Human Resources, Office of Adoptions, Atlanta. In 1997, the Office of Adoptions was established within the Georgia Department of Human Resources to draw attention and resources to adoption programs and policies. The office focused on the following strategies: privatization, business and religious community involvement, development of comprehensive statewide post-adoption services, and development of new policies and innovative recruitment strategies. As a result, a continuum of initiatives or programs has been created and implemented to support the adoptive process in Georgia. They include: caseworker/parent training on children with disabilities, support for youth and support for families.

New York State Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc., Ithaca, N.Y. Incorporated in 1975, the New York State Citizen's Coalition for Children (the Coalition) has had a strong commitment to advocacy on behalf of children in need of permanency and adoptive and foster families. The Coalition was founded and continues to be guided by volunteers, who serve as parent group leaders, facilitators, and advocates in every region of New York state. The Coalition partners with several national and statewide organizations and has provided training and consultation to at least 13 other states, enabling them to develop their own coalitions or to replicate Coalition programs. They offer a wide array of training, educational, and information and referral services to current and prospective adoptive and foster parents throughout the state. The Coalition's support groups have included several New York state "firsts," including the first group for foster and adoptive parents of HIV/AIDS children, the first Native American parent group, the first group for kinship adoptive and foster parents, and the first adoptive and foster parent group for lesbians and gay men.

Public Awareness

Larry Whiteside, Franklin County Children's Services, Columbus, Ohio. Larry Whiteside has been a dedicated employee of Franklin County Children's Services for over 18 years. In 1996, he became a caseworker in the Adoptions Department and brought his skills in business administration and graphic design to bear on matching children and families. He devised innovative public awareness programs and literature that give prospective adoptive families positive "first impressions" of the agency's children who are waiting to be adopted. He also designs and develops a calendar that features some of the agency's harder to place children. He is the editor-in-chief of the agency's quarterly newsletter, "Take My Hand," which features available children in a format designed for the average person to comprehend. Of the 31 children featured in the newsletter during the first two quarters of 2000, 25 have been placed in permanent, loving homes and, as of June 1, 2000, eight of the 12 children featured in the calendar have been placed in adoptive homes. Encouraged by the agency's adoption successes, Mr. Whiteside is currently developing a curriculum focusing on replicating his strategies for adoption recruitment.

Individual and/or Family Contributions

Individuals:
Kaaren Hebert, Department of Social Services, Lafayette, La. Kaaren Hebert left her position as a front line supervisor for foster care in a small rural Louisiana parish to accept the challenge of becoming the adoption supervisor for the Lafayette Regional Office of Community Services at a time when adoptions in the regions were moving very slowly. Her ability to raise public awareness, encourage commitment and nurture the knowledge and skill development of her workers was key in turning the unit around and establishing a consistently stable staff with an uncompromising commitment to children. Ms. Hebert was an instrumental participant in the Lafayette Regional Adoption 2002 Initiative Plan. She led her staff to surpass the goals set, increasing the number of adoptions made in each successive year since the plan's inception. In 1997, the Lafayette office finalized 35 adoptions. In 1998, the goal was 40 adoptions, and 43 were completed. In 1999, the goal was 46 adoptions and 66 were completed. Under Ms. Hebert's supervision since 1990, the adoptions unit staff has placed 459 children in adoptive homes, 72 of which were out of state, and the majority of which were special needs children.

Carolyn E. Smith, Massachusetts Adoptions Resource Exchange, Inc., Boston. Carolyn Smith began her career at the Massachusetts Adoption and Resource Exchange (MARE) in 1984. She brought innovative ideas to matching and referral without the aid of a computer, coordinated the MARE photolisting book, tracked child specific recruitment activities, implemented and facilitated support groups, and created Adoption Challenge, a committee focused on recruiting families for children with developmental delays. She also planned adoption parties. In the four years during which she ran the parties, more than 50 children found placements as a direct result of these events. Ms. Smith has also been successful in finding homes for minority children, changing state legislation and enlisting the private sector to help with adoption efforts.

Family:
Carmelo and Nydia Sanchez, foster parents, Chicago. The Sanchez family has opened their home and hearts to more than 15 foster children with special needs. They have adopted four of these children and are in the process of adopting a fifth. The children are now thriving physically, emotionally and academically. One is planning to join the Marine Corps and another is seeking a career as a doctor or pharmacist. Their 15-year-old adopted daughter Maria published reflections of her feelings about adoption and the Sanchez family in a recent issue of ADOPT ME, a publication of the Adoption Information Center of Illinois, and will soon be appointed to the newly forming Illinois Adoption Advisory Council. The Sanchez' family commitment to permanency is not limited to their home life. Nydia is employed by the Adoption Information Center of Illinois and represents that agency at foster care and adoption conferences. She also serves on a workgroup that is part of the Chances For Children Task Force-a joint initiative of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County Juvenile Court. In addition, she is involved with the local school councils at both the high school and elementary levels.

Applied Scholarship and/or Research

Jeanne A. Howard and Susan Livingston Smith, Illinois State University, Normal, Ill. Professors Jeanne Howard and Susan Smith are passionate advocates for adoption, who have devoted their scholarly energy to promoting and preserving the adoptions of special needs children. The knowledge generated by their research has educated the public about the needs of waiting children, informed policy, guided decisions about matching waiting children with families, helped prepare families for the challenges of parenting these children, and educated workers about effective strategies to prepare families and support them after adoptions are finalized.

Philanthropy

Illinois Hospital and Health Systems Association, Naperville, Ill. The Illinois Hospital and Healthsystems Association (IHHA) has provided vision, leadership and on-going support in creating The Corporate Partnership for Recruitment of Adoptive Families. The IHHA, and the participating Illinois hospitals, have maintained a personal commitment to promote adoption with sustained voluntary action, including hundreds of hours of donated time, expertise, and other in-kind supports. In 1998, IHHA became the state's first corporate partner, launching a model work place adoption recruitment program with the governor's office, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the Child Care Association, the agency that represents the interests of private, non-profit child welfare agencies in Illinois.

Decrease in the time children in foster care wait for permanency

Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, Conservatorship/Adoption Programs of Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, Edinburg, Texas. Using diverse and innovative strategies, models and partnerships, the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS), Conservatorship/Adoption Programs of Cameron and Hidalgo Counties have significantly reduced the average length of stay for children in the foster care system. Within one calendar year, 248 children were placed in substitute care settings for a variety of reasons stemming from incidences of abuse or neglect in their families of origin. During the same time frame, 80 percent of those children were moved back to permanent settings. Achieving permanency for foster children is a paramount commitment of the TDPRS, and Cameron and Hidalgo counties have successfully embraced that commitment with ingenuity at all levels of their child welfare services systems. Innovative techniques have been developed to reduce both foster care expenditures and emotional stress for families and children.

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