Ramsey County begins effort to recruit adoptive families

Shannon and Eric Canny never intended to adopt a teenager, much less two. But after hearing a group of teens talk about their dream of having a permanent home two years ago, they became parents to one of the 80 children adopted in Ramsey County that year.

Ramsey County, however, wants even more children adopted and the wait for adoptive homes shortened. Only 18 percent of children adopted in the county last year had waited less than two years, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. That compares with an average of 45 percent statewide.

So this summer, the county launched a five-year recruitment effort to find more adoptive parents and foster parents. It received a $2 million federal grant, one of nine grants awarded nationally, designed to uncover the most effective ways to recruit parents.

"I believe that if people become aware of the huge need out there, they will adopt some of these children who desperately need permanent homes," said Shannon Canny, an Andover mother who had three children of her own before adopting.

"In fact now we're adopting another child," she said. "We hope to finalize that adoption July 31."

In the months ahead, St. Paul and suburban residents should expect to see recruiters at community meetings, billboards along the streets, and other efforts to drum up interest in adoption and foster care, county officials said.

Recruitment will focus heavily on children of color and older children because they are more likely to lag in foster care, county officials said. About 120 children are now awaiting adoptive homes in Ramsey County, said Carolyn Smith, project coordinator. More than half of them are black, she said.

That trend must change, Smith said.

"We intend to be more visible, to be more of a presence in the community," she said. "You'll see us at different functions, at Rondo Days, at churches, at community organizations. We plan to sponsor breakfasts with foster care and adoptive parents talking about their experiences."

The recruitment campaign also plans to transform some of the older children awaiting adoption into community "ambassadors," being a face of the county's adoption efforts and a voice at the table, Smith said.

Ramsey County, to date, hasn't had a significant recruitment campaign largely because it lacked funding, she said. Nonetheless, the number of children awaiting adoption dropped from 284 in 2003 to about 120 today.

The Cannys adopted their first child, a 16-year-old girl, in 2007. Like most adoptive parents, they had planned to adopt a younger child. But after hearing a panel discussion led by teens who wanted homes, they adopted the girl and then later that year her 17-year-old brother.

"I remember one presenter saying, 'These aren't scary kids, but sometimes they do scary things,'" Canny recalled. "Often the problem is because of what's been done to them, their home wasn't safe."

Because the children are complicated, the results are mixed. Their new daughter has bonded well with the family and is heading to college this fall. Her now 19-year-old brother, however, has moved back in with his birth mother. The 10-year-old boy they intend to adopt this month, who is living with them, is making good progress, she said.

The county's goal is to find a home for every child in need, Smith said. A new strategy will be to challenge churches and community groups to find a home for one child -- not just talk to them about the general need for adoption, she said.

Likewise the county will have to do a better job with its "concurrent planning," state officials said. That means mapping out two directions for each child who winds up in foster care. One planned route would be used if the child goes home and the other would prepare them for adoption.

"Ramsey County has struggled to do it concurrently, instead of sequentially," said Chuck Johnson, an assistant commissioner at state Human Services Department. "We're glad that Ramsey County has received the grant and is moving forward."