FAMILY VISITS
Kidsave’s Family Visit Model works in a variety of cultures. It enables families to host an older child for adoption who live in foster care and orphanages. Hosts get to know the child, mentor and support them, and work with Kidsave to find the child a permanent family. This model works for American kids in foster care using the Weekend Miracles Program and for children living in orphanages around the world. It also works for international adoption, through our Summer Miracles Program. Summer Miracles gives vacations to older kids who cannot find permanent families in their own countries, giving them a chance to find a family abroad.
What is the Family Visit Model?
Kidsave’s Family Visit model moves older children into permanency. It starts with case mining and reunification, which can usually help about half the kids find families. Family visits are implemented when reunification and case mining fail. At that point, child-specific advocacy kicks into high gear. Children meet interested families at interactive events and are matched with hosts who then become their child’s advocate for finding a permanent family. The model uses other commonly used techniques to place children including child preparation, outreach, support, training, and tracking.
Why Does It Work?
Family Visits open the door wider – families do not have to have a home study to spend time with a child for adoption.
Hosts only have to commit to weekend visits – a smaller commitment than fostering so not as intimidating for everyone involved.
It allows kids and adults to get to know each other gradually in a non-threatening environment.
Youth ambivalent about adoption can participate without having to commit. Kids only need to be open to a connection.
It provides support to families throughout the process.
It creates more avenues for child specific advocacy.
We have established our Family Visit Model in Colombia, Ukraine, Russia and the USA.
Kidsave’s hosting program was created because too many older kids are languishing in foster care in the United States. The Kidsave Family Visit Model is built on the simple premises that:
- Once people in the community meet and get to know older children growing up in government care, many will feel compelled to help and some will take steps to adopt or build other more permanent relationships.
- And, once kids get to know people in a non-threatening environment, they might find that special, permanent relationship that can make an important difference in their lives.
- Give kids a choice in the matter. When children have a voice in who they want to be with, matches are more likely to endure.
Kidsave’s Family Visit Model in the USA is branded “Weekend Miracles” in Los Angeles County, California, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and in early 2020 Houston, Texas. It is also operating under the brand name “Choice” in Colorado, and as the DC Family and Youth Initiative in Washington, DC. Learn More
In the USA Kidsave serves foster youth who are:
- Ages 9 – 17 who are living with foster families who do not intend to adopt them, or in residential facilities and group homes
- Single children and sibling sets
- Youth on probation who are also in the foster care system;
- Kids whose family reunification services are terminated
- Kids open to a connection with an adult who choose to participate
The Family Visit Program incorporates simple ideas:
- Be “customer friendly” — make it easier to get involved with a child for adoption in foster care;
- Let families interested in fostering safely meet kids right away – rather than having to wait months for home studies and clearances — thereby keeping them engaged;
- Give kids a choice in the matter. Matches where children have a voice in who they want to be with create relationships that are more likely to endure.
- Hosting has the potential to move a larger number of children into families.
How does it start?
Hosting starts with a short orientation prior to attending a community event. Families and kids interact in fun activities to help them get to know each other. Following the events families and kids indicate to Kidsave if there is someone with whom they would like to spend more time. Kids have the choice as to who their host family will be. Clearances and training are required before hosting can begin.
Once hosting begins relationships deepen. Some families are super-mentors only, focusing on finding the child a permanent family. Others decided that they want to adopt the child they are hosting. The program allows relationships to develop naturally, at the child’s own pace.
To Get Involved
In 2007, Kidsave launched our Family Visit Model in Colombia in partnership with Instituto Colombiano Bienestar Familiar (ICBF), Colombia’s national child welfare system. The program started as a pilot called “Lazos de Familia” in Bogota, and grew from a Kidsave-operated pilot to a national program for institutionalized youth operated by ICBF, rebranded “Super Amigos.”
Super Amigos has grown to serve almost 5,000 institutionalized youth across Colombia. The program is volunteer-driven and supports all children, including children with disabilities – giving them strong adult mentors who support their lives, educational goals, and career aspirations. The goal is to create young adults capable of being positive contributors to society, and enabling them to build healthy families of their own.
Events that engage interested adults and the children help them get to know each other. Eventually, some Super Amigos welcome their host child into their home for weekends, holidays and school vacations.
Who Does Super Amigos Help?
- Kids 9-17 who are living in institutions, called “Foundations” in Colombia
- Single kids and sibling sets
- Children with and without disabilities
Expanding in Latin America
ICBF associated the importance of family engagement for institutionalized children through Kidsave’s evaluation of Lazos de Familia. With the recognition that children without parental care could dramatically benefit from a connection with a caring adult, ICBF began expansion of Super Amigos and Kidsave Colombia was instrumental in training ICBF staff in program implementation across many regions.
In 2001 Kidsave launched its first in-country program in the Smolensk region of Russia, giving 1,000 Russian orphans visits with Russian families during the summer, holidays and weekends. These visits allowed the children to experience family life and gave host families the chance to get to know the children in a comfortable environment. Of that group, 477 moved out of orphanages and into families and an additional 220 stayed connected with families who continued to mentor them, while the children remained living in the orphanage.
On Sakhalin Island, after just two years of the Family Visit Model Program, 177 children had moved to families and three orphanages were able to be closed.
How Did Family Visits Help?
In Russia family visits helped to destigmatize orphans in the community and connect them with caring, local families for summer, holiday and weekend visits. These visits enabled the children to experience family life and gave host families the chance to get to know the children in a comfortable environment, changing the stigma of adoption in Russia.
Kidsave was told about an older woman who was one of the first to host a child for adoption in her village in Russia. Her friends did not approve, yet she took the boy with her wherever she went. As people got to know him, their attitudes changed. The following summer, several of her friends stepped up to host, and the Russian Orthodox Church provided funds to help supplement the cost of an extra mouth to feed by providing a food stipend.
Kidsave’s partner, Childhood Keepers, a Russian NGO offers training to central and regional government officials, orphanage workers and other local NGOs in how to implement the family visit model. We encourage local organizations to take on these programs and give more older orphans hope for committed, caring adults in their lives.
In 2017 Kidsave joined the working group for child welfare reform in Ukraine. The goal of this effort is to move over 100,000 children from orphanages and other state institutions back to their biological families or into family care settings.
As part of the reform effort, Kidsave’s focus is to test our Family Visit Model in supporting the transition of 40 older children and teens who cannot be reunified (age 6-14) from institutions into families. Our focus, permanent family care, will be achieved through finalized adoptions, legal guardianships and placements in long-term foster care. When family placements cannot be made, long-term mentoring of institutionalized youth will be provided.
The pilot is located in two communities, Kherson and Mykolaiv. The pilot has a special focus on developing systems whereby social workers and citizens collaborate to move children through the entire permanency system, into families. Our three local partners support the effort.
- Moi Dom, a child-serving NGO in Kherson leads the effort,
- The International Leadership and Development Center (ILDC) adapted the Family Visit Model to the Ukranian context and supports some training of professionals and lay partners.
- Ukraine Without Orphans supports family recruitment, hosting and advocacy with an emphasis on engaging communities of faith.
The pilot is expected to be complete in 2019.
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For a consultation to learn more please contact
Randi Thompson
CEO and President
100 Corporate Pointe, Suite 380
Culver City, CA 90230
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