My name is Danielle Brown and I have worked with Ampersand Families as a Youth Permanency Specialist for more than five years. Last year, I humbly accepted an additional role with a new program offered at our agency. This program is called Innovative Targeted Recruitment for African American Youth. Innovative Targeted Recruitment for African American Youth works to establish community partnerships that engage in targeted recruitment to meet the needs of African American youth under the guardianship of the commissioner or tribal guardianship. The community partnership will focus on the needs of African American youth in out of home care and in need of adoptive families.
The goal and vision of this program is to discover ways through – community outreach; education/trainings; providing adequate resources for relative and non-relative families who have adopted and/or are considering adoption; connecting with these families to share their experience working with the child welfare system, in hopes of learning about some of the barriers they may have faced along with any feedback that could better assist other families in the future; collaborating with the counties and adoption agencies in the metro and greater Minnesota areas, etc. I firmly believe that this vision could be the foundation for providing equitable recruitment for African American youth. “IT TAKES A VILLAGE…”
If you are interested or know anyone who may be interested in learning more about Innovative Targeted Recruitment for African American Youth, I can be reached via email at danielle@ampersandfamilies.org. I look forward to connecting with you!
