Helping Youth Find the Forever Families They Need
Too often, children linger in foster care once they are ready for adoption because of a lack of an adoptive resource. Waiting too long to find a safe, loving adoptive family increases the child’s risk of aging out of foster care without the support of a family. Sadly, it is common that extended family have lost contact with the child while they were in care, and are unaware of their significant needs. Research shows that when placed with family or friends, children have improved outcomes and more positive experiences.
Adoptive Family Placement
Extreme Family Finding™ puts a team of recruiters and private investigators to work finding multiple extended family members and kin relationships for children most at risk of aging out of foster care without an adoptive resource. This includes older youth, large sibling groups, and children with significant medical or mental health issues.
Extreme Family Finding™ credits its roots to the successful Extreme Recruitment program model, created by FosterAdopt Connect out of Independence, MO. Extreme Family Finding™ builds on that successful model by creating a family tree, contacting and educating family and kin, working to identify permanent adoptive resources and other sources of relational permanency for children and youth, and wrapping concierge support and post-placement services around those identified families. With a combination of research, advocacy, and support, 80% of the children served are matched with permanency resources, and 90% are reconnected with safe and appropriate lifelong support.
Extreme Family Finding™ Case Requirements
Children served by Extreme Family Finding™ must be:
Aged 10 or older. Exceptions to this are allowed if the child meets ONE or more of the following criteria:
- The child is part of a sibling group being served.
- The child has documented elevated medical or mental health needs.
- The child has been legally free for adoption for six months with no permanent resource identified.
Legally free for adoption. An exception may be made if ALL of the following criteria are met:
- Reunification is no longer the case plan.
- The court grants written permission to the Extreme Family Finding™ team to utilize the child’s picture and strengths-based profile for recruitment through print media, online resources, and on television.
- The child’s Family Support Team agrees that Extreme Family Finding™ is in the child’s best interest.
Meet the kids EFF™ serves
Easton
Easton is SpongeBob SquarePants’s biggest fan! He knows every SpongeBob song and episode by heart. Easton is 14 years old, and he is one of those rare kids who enjoys his own company. While he enjoys solitude from time to time, he also likes to be included in your daily activities. Easton loves to collect blankets, and being wrapped up in fluffy blankets helps him to feel safe. He has a soft spot for snacks, and Goldfish crackers are his favorite. Easton is cherished by his caretakers.
Easton does have some extraordinary special needs, but there are numerous services who can help with his care. Interested families will be guided and supported as supportive services are put in place to help their home and Easton thrive together.
All family types will be considered for this great kid. For Missouri children, both home studied, and non-home studied Missouri families are encouraged to inquire; only home studied families from other states should do so.
