Wendy’s Wonderful Kids brand mark - a signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

About The Program

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) is a signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a nonprofit public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the number of children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States and Canada.

Through WWK, the Foundation provides funding and establishes co-investment partnerships with organizations like Spaulding for Children to support the hiring of adoption recruiters who implement an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model. A rigorous, five-year national evaluation revealed that children referred to the program are up to three times more likely to be adopted.

Our Recruiters

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids adoption recruiters are focused on finding the right permanent family for every child in their care. These professionals begin their search within a child’s familiar circles of relatives, friends and neighbors and then reach out to the communities in which they live. A key component of the child-focused recruitment model is building a trusting relationship with youth, ensuring that each step of the process respects the child’s voice, privacy and dignity while helping them unpack fears and misconceptions about adoption.

Spaulding for Children currently has Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters serving counties in Michigan. Our recruiters work with smaller caseloads, ensuring that they can provide each child with the time, resources and support they need and find the permanent families they deserve.

WENDY’S WONDERFUL KIDS RECRUITERS

Danelle Stiffler — DStiffler@spaulding.org

Kate Pogany — KPogany@spaulding.org

Our Children

WWK recruiters typically serve children in foster care who are often overlooked. That includes teenagers, children with special needs and siblings. Prior to being referred to the program, many are on track to age out of foster care at age 18 or 21 without the security and support of a permanent family.

Of children currently served by WWK in the United States and Canada:

92% are older than age of 8 | Spaulding for Children

92% are older than age of 8

34% have had six or more placements

23% have been in foster care for more than four years

85%+ of kids have had minimal or no adoption recruitment efforts on their behalf before being referred to the program

85%+ have had minimal or no adoption recruitment efforts on their behalf before being referred to the program

To learn more, visit www.davethomasfoundation.org.