The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), welcomes the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption as an organizational member of the oldest judicial membership organization in the country.
With headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity committed to finding forever families for children in foster care. Its national programs, such as Wendy’s Wonderful Kids®, Adoption-Friendly Workplace™ and National Adoption Day, work to achieve the vision that every child will have a permanent home and a loving family. Through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, the Foundation supports the hiring of adoption recruiters who serve children and youth who have been waiting in foster care the longest. A rigorous, five-year national evaluation revealed that a child referred to the program is up to three times more likely to be adopted.
The Foundation’s mission and vision align with the NCJFCJ’s history of supporting safe and healthy environments for children. Both organizations are committed to exhausting all efforts to keep families intact because children and youth deserve safe and loving homes.
“At the heart of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s work is the belief that justice and the right to be free of fear and harm must be equally applied to all of our children,” said Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Foundation. “We look forward to collaborating with NCJFCJ to reduce the legal barriers to permanency for youth in foster care who are most often overlooked.”
Every year, more than 20,000 young people in the United States leave the foster care system without a family, putting them at a much higher risk of experiencing homelessness, unemployment and other negative outcomes.
“I’m grateful to partner with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in helping to prevent youth from aging out of foster care and offering tools and resources for those looking to start their adoption journey,” said Joey Orduña Hastings, CEO of the NCJFCJ.
About the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national, nonprofit public charity dedicated to finding permanent homes for the more than 140,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. Created by Wendy’s® founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns and innovative grantmaking. To learn more, visit davethomasfoundation.org.