Diligent recruitment planning

A diligent recruitment plan is a comprehensive plan that outlines how your child welfare agency will recruit, develop, support, and engage potential foster and adoptive families for children in foster care. Diligent recruitment plans are intended to guide your agency’s initiatives and activities for identifying and engaging potential foster and adoptive families who reflect the race and ethnicity of the children in your agency’s care and who can support their unique needs. 

As part of the federal requirements (available on the Children’s Bureau website), all Title IV-E agencies must submit a five-year, comprehensive child and family services plan (CFSP). As part of the CFSP, agencies must describe their plan for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families. 

Diligent recruitment plans should be data-driven. You’ll work to understand the children in your agency’s care, their demographics, and their needs. You’ll compare those to your existing resource families. The gap between who you have and who you need will help you set goals.

Diligent recruitment plans should be measurable. Your tasks for recruiting and retaining families can be measured by including details and timeframes.

To get started, assemble a diverse team of agency leaders and community partners, including those with lived experience. Then build on what you have: existing formats, previous successes and lessons learned, your agency’s values, and agency goals and special initiatives.