Question 1

How does the recruitment campaign work?

Accepted Answer

Deciding to take a young stranger into your home and heart is NOT an ‘impulse purchase’. Rare is the person who gets the idea to foster today and signs up for a class tomorrow. It takes some people years until they finally do it.   So our recruitment campaign is designed to not only attract those who are ready, but plant the seed and begin gently growing the idea of fostering inside more and more people in your county—so future training classes can more readily be filled, and future foster family quotas be met.   Out there in your county right now are residents who:   Never considered fostering: GOAL: Awaken the parent inside         How do you get an individual to even begin thinking about the idea of bringing a child into their home? With emotionally driven messages using the power of print, video and sound. (SHOW EXAMPLES OF THE EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS WE USED WITH THE ASHTABULA CAMPAIGN, AND INTEGRATE THEM WIHT THE MEDIA THAT DELIVERED: A NEWSPAPER, RADIO, TELEVISION, MOBILE DEVICE)   Have had fostering cross their mind: GOAL: Educate and prepare them Now that the individual is considering the idea of fostering, how do we further their commitment to the idea? With a foster-focused microsite containing enlightening information and videos about the challenges and rewards of fostering (MICROSITE OVERVIEW)   Had been seriously considering fostering GOAL: Activate them into taking action (GREETING PAGE) How do you create a sense of urgency and excitement to move forward? With engaging messages featuring the start date of your classes, and a greeting portal that further emboldens and encourages them to take acton!

Question 2

How it helped Ashtabula County Children Services

Accepted Answer

With one month left until foster parent training classes were set to begin, only two people were registered.   That’s when a foster parent recruitment campaign for Ashtabula County Children Services kicked into action.   This intense and engaging three week recruitment campaign was seen and heard in newspapers, cable TV, radio, and online. And caused over 400 different Ashtabula residents to visit a special site where they learned a little more about how to become a foster parent … and why it was so worth it.   By that first day of classes, all 20 available seats were filled.   TANIA WITH CAPTION: “I reviewed the campaign elements and media plan with my co-workers. They were excited about having a coordinated campaign working on our behalf. We didn’t have to do anything except wait for the calls.”

Question 3

What is the value of one foster family?

Accepted Answer

Aside from the obvious benefits and better outcomes for the child (being with a family setting in his/her hometown -vs-  a group home or residential center, possibly in another county) there are the practical savings in placement costs.   For Ashtabula, the average rate they were paying to place their children in each type of setting was as follows: Foster Family:            $46/day   -   $1380/month   -    $16,790/year    Group Home:          $185/day    -  $5550/month   -    $67,525/year Residential Center: $297/day   -   $8910/month   -  $108,405/year   So having just one more foster family available would mean another, better option for a child, and savings of $50,000 (more than the campaign cost) to $91,000 for Ashtabula when placing that child for one year.

How much would one extra foster family be worth to your county children’s agency?