It can be hard to tell which recruitment methods work best or whether you're recruiting the types of families that youth need most. Use data about the children and youth who enter foster care to guide your recruitment, considering things like language spoken, religion, and school district. Also capture detailed information about how families were referred to your agency so you can focus on the most effective recruitment methods.

How to do this

Figure out what types of families you need

Create a report you can run regularly to see the traits of children and youth entering foster care. Include things like school district, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, religion, language spoken, and special needs. Work with your recruitment team to create local strategies to attract matching families. Target recruitment efforts in neighborhoods where there are higher removal rates, so those children and youth can remain in their communities.

Consider using a Foster Home Estimator to configure your data collection efforts.

Track which recruitment methods work

Add to your inquiry forms a list of possible events, marketing materials, or other recruitment methods that someone may have been exposed to. Ask which ones led to their interest in fostering. Include "Other" on your list with a space to freely enter text. Encourage detail by labeling this field "Other (please be specific)."

In initial phone calls, ask questions about how a family became interested in fostering. Add these details to a central location (like a shared spreadsheet) you can track.

Find recruitment gaps

Compare your youth data report with new inquiries to find and focus on matching families. Track data from your inquiry form (like families' interests, tribal status, language spoken, or zip code) against the characteristics you most need in families. Use this information to focus on licensing matching families, while expanding recruitment efforts in the communities where you have the biggest gaps.

This strategy in action

Hawaii regularly runs a report on each foster child. It includes things like where they're from, their age, whether they have a disability, and whether they're now in a different school district. This report guides their recruitment work.

Colorado has a data-focused digital recruitment plan. It includes data on age, race, gender, intellectual and developmental disabilities, large sibling groups, and trauma-related sexual behaviors. They also use Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping for targeted recruitment.

Fairfax County, VA compares ZIP codes where they have the most need against ZIP codes on new foster family inquiry forms. They host recruitment booths at farmers' markets and other events in neighborhoods with the highest removal rates. They use Census data to pick which local libraries to host recruitment events at. They also ask for referral information in the initial orientation phone call. They report that this provides richer and more detailed answers than a form.

Frederick County, MD asks interested families to specify in detail how they became interested in fostering and asks them to indicate on their inquiry form all the places where they heard about fostering. This helped them realize that their mailers were actually reaching a lot of families.

Prince George's County, MD tracks the ZIP codes of new inquiries against the ZIP codes where they most need placement options, and then focuses recruitment efforts in the missing ZIP code areas.