When asked what they want to be when they grow up, children often answer police officers, fire fighters, or teachers. Under a new recruitment initiative in Baltimore City, the adults who work in these professions will be among those targeted to foster and adopt children. Yvonne Gilchrist, director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (DSS), had the vision for the program and gathered a committee of city officials and employees as well as social service professionals to write a proposal. The plan has since been embraced by Baltimore City Mayor Martin O'Malley.

Under the initiative, anyone who is a city employee may apply to become a foster and/or adoptive parent through a special recruitment unit established exclusively for them. The head of that unit, Kewanee Smith, explains that following a city employee's initial request for information, a recruiter comes to the work place to make an overview presentation, with her message tailored to the specific site. If even two or three employees at a particular location are interested, pre-service training is held at the work place. Additional trainings are held at a central location on evenings or weekends to accommodate spouses or gather employees from several offices where only one person is interested.

Barriers that traditionally slow families' progress are broken down, as city employees can use their sick time to attend trainings, court hearings, or appointments during the workday. Smith and her fellow staff rapidly process city employees' applications, thus making the time from approval to placement much shorter than it is for the average applicant. Smith has also instituted special "while you wait" activities and calls to keep prospective parents engaged.

City employees are an excellent population for targeted recruitment, as they are gainfully employed, dedicated to public service, and have already successfully passed background checks. Smith's interactions with city employees over the past year of the initiative have confirmed that they are a family-oriented, hard-working, and dependable group-exactly the type of parents DSS is looking for.

Because the city employee initiative lays the foundation for a closer, more responsive relationship between prospective adoptive parents and the agency, DSS is retaining interested city employees at an exceptionally high rate. The excellent service that city employees receive is building a more positive image of the DSS within the community, and Smith anticipates the project will only become more popular and successful in the future.

To learn more, contact Kewanee Smith at 410-361-2214.