Recruitment
and Retention Ideas from Wisconsin Workers
Each day, Wisconsin foster
and adoptive workers use creative and successful techniques to recruit
and retain the unique families that serve children in foster care
and adoption. The Foster Care and Adoption Resource Center (FCARC)
Wisconsin Success highlights strategies implemented by both urban
and rural Wisconsin agencies that have been successful. Please make
use of these ideas or expand upon them to recruit or retain foster
and adopt families. If your agency has had successful strategies,
please share your ideas by contacting Mike
Heath.
We are happy to post
your ideas.
Iowa
County Facebook Page
Fond du Lac County
Walworth County Media Outreach
UW-Madison School of Social Work grad students' presentation:
Recruiting Foster Families of Color
St. Aemillian-Lakeside
Sheboygan County Retention
Marinette County Gifts
Retention Ideas from Door County
Planting the Foster Care Seed in Washburn
County
Saturday Harbor Market Recruitment in Kenosha
County
Iowa County Facebook
Page
(Posted March, 2011)
Beth
Enwright, foster care coordinator for Iowa County Department of Social
Services, has created a Facebook profile and Facebook "group"
for current foster parents to interact with one another. The foster
parents enjoy connecting with each other and it's a great way for
them to suggest reading material, events, etc. for other foster parents
to check out. It's also a great way for the foster care coordinator
to stay connected with the foster parents and update them on upcoming
trainings, new information, etc.
Iowa County Department of Social Services also created a Facebook
page' to recruit new foster parents. Past and present foster parents
are able to "like" the page, which helps spread the word
to their friends and family in the community.
The Facebook group is a "closed" group specifically for current Iowa County foster parents. This helps to keep the group small and confidential.
Fond du Lac County Christmas Cards &
Calendars; Recruitment Signs
Each
year at Christmas time, Tanya Abbott and Sheila Soik send calendars
to their foster parents and Christmas cards. The cards are signed
by all the workers. The calendar has a little extension on the bottom
where we have the dates that checks are mailed each month. We also
have a place for them to write their social workers’ phone numbers
and their coordinator’s phone number.
They also recently had
a somewhat successful recruitment event in which they had signs made
that look like the campaign signs that politicians have when they
are running for office. The signs said, "Kids Need You! Foster
a Child." with our phone number. They put them in people’s
yards and wherever people gave permission. The signs were rather large
signs with stakes on them to pound into the ground, and resembled
some of the larger signs that politicians have. Tanya and Shiela had
them up all around Fond du Lac and received some calls in response
to the signs.
Walworth
County Media Outreach
Walworth County Foster Care Coordinator Susan Earnest was able to
get the local paper in the area to write a great article about one
of Walworth County's foster families. After the article ran, Susan
received a number of inquiries for becoming a foster family. Read
the article at: http://mywalworthcounty.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=2399&SectionID=11&SubSectionID=11&S=1
UW-Madison
School of Social Work grad students' presentation: Recruiting Foster
Families of Color
UW-Madison graduate students Jenna Reetz and Misty Koob gave
a presentation in May of 2010 about recruiting families of color.
Click
here for the notes from their presentation.
St.
Aemilian-Lakeside
St. Aemilian-Lakeside,
Inc.sent postcards with magnets attached to 10,000 addresses in southeastern
Wisconsin. They feature the recruitment slogan, “Grow Hope.
Become a Treatment Foster Parent.” St. Aemilian-Lakesid staff
followed up with recruitment posters and events in public places in
the same area.
Sheboygan County
Retention
Sheboygan
County has many long term foster parents. Here are some of the ways
the foster care coordinator, Jackie Erdmier, and others in her department
recognize foster parents and show them appreciation for what they
do.
Jackie had specially
designed cards printed to send to foster parents for Foster Parent
Appreciation Month in 2009. She asked each worker who had a child
in a home to write a short note and sign the card for that individual
home. She pointed out that the signing went quickly because the supervisor
and foster care coordinator took the cards around for signatures.
Here are e-mails sent
from two foster parents in response to the cards:
One parent
wrote:
I just want to thank you for the card that you sent. What really
impressed me was that you took the time to write it with your hand
a little something. In this current world of busyness, people don’t
have the time to hand write anything anymore. I just wanted to let
you know that I appreciated the card with your handwriting on it.
I know that you have tons of foster parents and just to think you
did that to each one of us, makes me appreciative. Thank you again
for caring.
Another wrote:
A few days ago we received a generic letter from I
believe, Jim Doyle's office, thanking us for the work that we do
as foster parents. We skimmed it and then it went into the garbage.
He doesn't know us and is therefore unable to truly appreciate what
we do as parents.
In October we will more than likely receive the letter inviting
us to the appreciation dinner and in December you'll deliver the
poinsettias as a thank you for what we do. As much as Jamie and
I appreciate all of that which I've mentioned above, they pale in
comparison to what we felt when we received the card from the department
yesterday. I can imagine how difficult it must have been for all
of those that we have worked with to come up with something to write
in the card. It's like being at work and a birthday card being passed
around. You don't know what to write and eventually the same thing
will get repeated over and over again. But this little card was
very special to Jamie and I and we appreciate the fact that the
time was taken to fill it out, especially that it was handwritten.
We hope you know how much we love what we do and how much we love
the kids that come into our home. And yes, sometimes we butt heads
with some of the workers until we get to the point where we understand
one another. Please know that we don't do it to be pains in the
butt. We only do it because we love these kids. We are glad to be
part of such a dynamic group working to better the lives of these
kids. As much as you all appreciate what we do, we appreciate what
you do.
Other things
Sheboygan County staff do for their foster parents, include:
- At Christmas, Jackie
buys nice poinsettias. The supervisor and two workers deliver them
personally to each family.
- The county has dress
down day on paydays to raise money for different charities. Employees
dress casually in exchange for donations to the designated charity
for that payday. Each employee can decide how much they want to
donate. Jackie signed foster care up for a payday fund raiser.
- Giving out a list of
suggested items that county employees can donate to foster families,
such as:
- Disposable cameras
- Scrapbooks/photo
albums/ colorful binders for life books
- Gently used/new
smaller size suitcases (several people could go together on
this)
- Binders for foster
parents to use as record keepers for each child.
- Money for training
tapes or online training gift certificates.
- Books for foster
kids – on foster care, etc. or at adoption time for foster
parents and adoptive families.
- Frames for family
pictures.
- Over $200 was donated,
as well as some of the items that were suggested.
- The county has held
volunteer appreciations banquets which included foster parents.
They were hosted at the civic center with catered food or at restaurants.
The parties ran as open houses. This gave the foster parents an
opportunity to interact.
- Jackie has solicited
donations from the local water park or other local family friendly
places where parents and kids can have fun and visit with one another.
- Jackie sends a sympathy
card to foster parents if there is a death in the family. She regularly
reads the paper and looks at the obituaries.
- She also sends cards
celebrating adoptions.
Sheboygan works at celebrating
the dedication of their families.
Marinette
County Gifts.
Denise Kunze in Marinette
County has a budget for small gifts for foster parents. She divides
that money between winter holiday gifts and gifts in Foster Care
Appreciation Month. She either sends a gift card or a gift ranging
in price from $10-$25. This past May, she chose picture frames with
family themes along with personalized thank you cards for Foster
Care Appreciation Month. Another year, she sent car first aid emergency
kits. For the holidays, the gifts were sent accompanied by cards
signed by agency staff.
Retention
Ideas from Door County
Diana Meenk, Door County’s
foster care coordinator, shares some of the activities she does during
the year to retain parents. She says that some are commonly used ideas
and others are unique to her county.
- Diana sends birthday
cards to foster parents with a note and personal signature. In the
note she recognizes some personal trait that makes that person a
good foster parent or something special that they have done during
the year.
- A foster parent is
recognized each month. She circulates a note with a description
of the great things that the foster parent does. All of the staff
signs the note.
- One of Diana’s
families hosts a pizza party each April in their home. Pizza and
broasted chicken are paid for by the agency. Everyone brings a dish
to pass.
- Diana holds her annual
foster parent banquet in October or November. The county buys recognition
gifts with family needs in mind that are worth approximately $20.
Some gift ideas are popcorn sets, emergency radios, car emergency
kits, Door County afghans, and cake pans inscribed with “from
the kitchen of and the name of the family” along with agency
cookbooks.
- Diana and her agency
actively encourage respite. Foster families do respite for one another.
One weekend a month is recommended for all families. Those that
are fostering children with more challenging needs are encourages
to take respite weekends twice a month.
As a whole, Door County
foster families have a history of longevity. Diana feels these extra
efforts reinforce their long time commitments to fostering.
Planting
the Foster Care Seed in Washburn County
Lisa Cottrell, Foster
Care Coordinator for Washburn County, found success in recruiting
foster families in her rural northwestern Wisconsin county by writing
letters to local churches. By providing several examples of short
announcements about the need for foster families, the church staff
chose the announcement for their bulletin and provided this message
to congregations for about one month.Lisa had 7 families voice an
interest in learning more about providing foster care! As a follow-up,
Lisa scheduled an informational meeting for those families. As a
result, she has met with two families who have followed through
with the licensing process. Lisa is pleased with this result, knowing
that the word has spread about the need for foster homes for children.
Retention
Counts in Jackson County
Coordinator for Jackson
County, Karla Meyer, has found success in retaining the families
that are currently licensed in her rural Western Wisconsin County.
There are presently 17 licensed homes. Within the last three years,
she has increased the number of homes by over double! Karla attributes
part of this success by expressing appreciation and support of these
families from the agency and community. The Jackson County Human
Services Department sponsored a picnic and potluck for families
to acknowledge Foster Family Month during the month of May. The
agency director grilled the meal and also supplied the food. Social
work staff attended the event and socialized with the families.
One other method of retention occurred when Karla organized a Foster
Parent Appreciation Night. The families were served a meal
and they all received gift bags. Area businesses donated items.
Each foster family received a personalized note written by social
work staff to congratulate them and to acknowledge their efforts
and work with children. Karla updates her current foster families
of the newly licensed families so that they can be contacted and
supported by the experienced families. She believes this really
makes them feel a part of the team.
Saturday
Harbor Market Recruitment in Kenosha County
Nicole Riedel of Community
Impact Programs in Kenosha County has done some successful recruiting
at the weekly Saturday Harbor Market. The Harbor Market provides
them with a free spot at the market as a non-profit. A lot of people
have approached them there and have inquired about foster care.
She hands out an average of 7 inquiry packets each Saturday. Of
the 14 inquiry packets handed out, she has received 4 completed
applications which will most likely lead to licensing.Nicole plans
to have information at one more market in Kenosha, and borrowed
the Resource Center Live Deeper, Love Longer, Leave Bigger
poster board to display at her table. They also plan to have a booth
at the Farmer’s Market in Wilmot, a smaller city in their
county, so that they can reach those who live in the rural areas
of the county as well.
