Child Matching Events

• Identify your child/children who you wish to present towards potential home study families. Get involved by contacting our Recruitment Coordinator for available dates.
• Gather media (pictures, videos, audio clips, etc.) that represent your child(ren). High-quality media and a good variety are valuable towards the presentation of the child.
• Prepare for questions that families might ask during the webinar. Review the child’s case files and identify what the child needs in a forever family. It is also important that workers share the strengths of the children along with their struggles. If possible find the contact information for others in the child’s life such as a CASA, mentor, or a foster parent who cares for them. A Family For Every Child can coordinate with these individuals to also participate in the webinar.
• Schedule a practice event in order to test audio and ensure that the event goes smoothly the day of. At the specific date and time of the event, log on from your computer and be prepared to discuss the child you are presenting. Log on instructions and all needed info will be sent to you days prior to the event. Be prepared to answer questions about the child, as families viewing the presentation have the ability to type questions they may have.
• Following the conclusion of the webinar, families will have the opportunity to submit their home study. Please be prepared to follow up with interested families and discuss with them if they are a good potential fit for the child, or why they may not be.

Child Matching Events give families the opportunity to learn more about a child that they have some interest in. The advantage in these events comes from the ability to ask any questions towards the social worker and receive immediate responses. Further information on the child is presented by the social worker as well. This is often information that goes beyond a child’s bio.

The interaction through questions during the webinar are valuable for both families and social workers, as families are allowed to ask all potential questions anonymously and social workers can effectively provide information on their child in a time-efficient manner.

Any families who are interested in attending a Child Matching Event webinar must be a home study approved family. Only Adoption Workers and families with completed home studies will be approved to attend these events due to the personal and detailed information that will be provided about the children during the event. All home study families interested in a Child Matching Event will need to pre-register for the specific event that they wish to be involved in.