Homes for Black Children Recruits through Courtesy and Community Connections

Step into the Homes for Black Children (HBC) office in Detroit, and you won't find the typical maze of desks and cubicles. Instead, a front porch-themed reception area-complete with flowered wallpaper, a picket fence, and patio chairs-welcomes you inside. Then, sofas, dining room tables and chairs, and artwork featuring African American families help you "feel like you're in a home," says Linda Whitfield, HBC's adoption supervisor.

The homey feeling is just one way HBC makes foster and adoptive parents feel like part of an extended agency family. Whitfield and colleague Anita Hunt, HBC licensing specialist, find that keeping families satisfied with their services and connected to the agency family is central to their success in recruiting and retaining African American foster and adoptive parents.

Community Connections

In 1969, community volunteers who were alarmed at the number of African American children languishing in foster care founded HBC to seek adoptive families. Today HBC is a multi-service private agency that is under contract with the Michigan Family Independence Agency to recruit both foster and adoptive homes.

When recruiting, HBC stays true to its community-based roots by, as Hunt says, "being out there where the people are at the time they will be out." HBC staff attend Detroit's major community celebrations-including the TasteFest, the Black Women's Expo, and the annual car show-as well as smaller festivals and events.

Two groups have proven to be especially valuable community partners. Since connecting with the health care industry, HBC has been busy with requests from hospitals and public health groups that invite them to look for families at community health fairs. As families come in for low-cost vaccinations or free cholesterol screening, they can also learn about adoptive and foster parenting.

Efforts to connect with the faith community-in particular large African American churches (often using women's auxiliary groups to make the initial connection)-have also spawned a host of invitations. HBC staff make displays for parish tea parties, give speeches at missionary society lunches, and serve as resources to family committees whose members are considering adoption.

Staff invest a lot of time in attending events-including time outside normal business hours. As Whitfield says, "it is critical to be seen as part of the community." She notes that any agency can establish a presence in the community, but cautions that fruitful connections take time. "Only two or three families may come forward after you attend an event, but we find those families critical-they could be resources for eight children or more."

HBC's Friends

Whitfield and Hunt both agree that spreading the word about the need for families is too much work to do alone. Fortunately, says Whitfield, "We have a lot of friends." Friends of Homes for Black Children, a formally organized volunteer group, helps plan special events for foster and adopted children. HBC's Friends also raise funds to sponsor "life enrichment activities" such as zoo and amusement park visits, skating events, dance lessons, and drumming classes.

Enrichment activities benefit HBC in several ways. They provide parents with a welcome respite, enhance children's social skills while boosting their self-confidence, and introduce the Friends to children who are waiting for placement. As the Friends return to their own social circles or go out to do further fundraising, "They've had a hands-on opportunity to meet the children and can speak from real experiences," Whitfield explains.

Recently the Friends started helping at community recruitment events. Their volunteer hours ease the burden on HBC staff and, since most of the Friends are adoptive or foster parents, their presence at recruitment events communicates that people of all ages and from all walks of life can commit to helping children.

Welcoming Families

The warm, family-like atmosphere of HBC is built from the moment a prospective foster or adoptive parent makes the first inquiry call or initially approaches an HBC staff member at an event. Outreach efforts, says Hunt, are bound to fail if "the receptionist turns away as many families as the recruiter brings in."

Two principles guide Hunt's initial conversations with families. First, she keeps in mind that HBC is there for everyone. Regardless of the age or seriousness of the person who approaches her, Hunt never thinks time spent discussing foster care or adoption is wasted. She always lets people know that even if they cannot foster or adopt, they can still volunteer to help children find homes. Second, she tries to engage each person in a relaxed, free-flowing conversation. Because adoption and foster care are about family connections, most people have a related story to tell or questions to ask. In the initial conversation, says Hunt, being a listening ear and a helpful resource are more important than discussing licensing requirements or handing out extensive literature packets.

Responsiveness is key, not just with prospective families but in working with community groups as well. HBC often gets calls from churches and civic groups interested in doing service projects with the agency. When they offer an idea for a project, Whitfield never says, "We don't need that," but instead approaches all offers saying, "That's wonderful. We can make it fit." Often HBC finds that these one-time service projects turn into lasting community partnerships that later bring in valuable donations and even foster and adoptive parents.

Trusting solutions offered by community members is especially important when foster and adoptive parents come forward offering to recruit in their own social circles. Whitfield explains, "When families come to us with homemade recruitment posters saying, 'This is what I want to do,' we don't question them with, 'Who are you to recruit?' or 'Do you have the right information?' Instead we give them a stack of our brochures and let them go. And they do a marvelous job."

Because the way in which staff members respond to families and community members is the foundation of successful recruiting, Whitfield recommends that all staff take time to complete an honest, thoughtful cultural self-assessment (see assessments below). Only by examining the value systems that have shaped their own lives can staff truly prepare themselves to welcome and accept others-especially those with different backgrounds or cultural practices. Next, she says, the entire agency should assess its skills, interest, willingness, and ability surrounding recruitment efforts-especially in communities of color-before plunging in.

Offering Support

Since 90 percent of HBC's adoptions are completed by foster parents with whom the children have already been living, adoptive parent recruitment is closely linked to foster parent retention. HBC makes training and support events-including preparation classes, support groups, appreciation days, and life enrichment activities for children-easy to attend by offering them in the evenings and on weekends. This means staff must once again work outside of standard office hours but, Hunt explains, "Since we need families who will go that extra mile, we also need to model that. And it works out great!"

Whenever families come to HBC's office for an event, they are greeted with food. And not just light fare or deli trays, notes Whitfield, but foods served at a typical family gathering in the African American community. Staff members contribute potluck items-fried chicken, yams, dressing, peach cobbler, etc.-to make families feel at home.

Even when families come for a celebration event or to drop off children, HBC tries to make the trip very worthwhile. Families can always earn training hours toward maintaining their license-even if that means watching an educational video in another room or bringing home a new parenting book to review.

Recruiting and supporting African American families "takes a committed staff who live and breathe the organization" admits Whitfield, but, "we're an agency that's willing to do that." After all, she says, "[families] are doing the work; our job is just to help."

Cultural Self-Assessment

Before beginning recruitment efforts, staff can use the following questions to examine their backgrounds and determine their comfort level, strengths, and biases in working with different racial and ethnic groups.

What is your cultural background?
In what community did you grow up? Describe its demographic composition.

What values did your family teach you?

What messages did you receive about relationships with people of different cultures?
When did you notice that people of different races and cultures are treated differently?

How do these experiences affect your work?
(Adapted from materials by James Green)

Agency Assessment

Readying your agency to recruit families of color is as important as preparing individual staff members. Honest answers to the questions below-for agency leaders or the entire staff-can help set goals and build the foundation of a successful recruitment and retention program.

Mission:
What are your agency and recruitment missions? Indicate the goals and action steps of the program.

History:
Review your organizationís history with recruitment efforts. What are your successes? Lessons learned?

Organizational demographics:
Examine the racial and ethnic demographics at all levels of the organization: board members, administrators, supervisors, direct service providers, support staff, birth families, foster families, adoptive families, and children.

Image:
Indicate and explain any public relations, media, or other administrative issues that affect services.

Community focus:
What community is being served? What are that communityís resources? Identify community-based/grassroots organizations, faith-based organizations, and community leaders.

Community collaboration:
What collaborative relationships/partnerships are already established? What new relationships/partnerships will be sought?

Policy and budget priorities:
Examine current recruitment policies. Are any changes needed? Is there a budget for recruitment? If not, how will the program be sustained?

Strategies/techniques:
Which recruitment strategies and techniques will be used in the program?

Current program:
Evaluate your present efforts to help identify successful strategies and techniques.