Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a dating-style service for families in the adoption world? Well look no further than Family-Match. According to their website, The Selfless Love Foundation and Adoption-Share are pleased to bring groundbreaking technology to Florida families free of charge. Family-Match, a data-driven technology with a compatibility assessment designed by the former lead researchers with eHarmony, seeks to decrease the time it takes for an adoption placement and match children to families where they will flourish. Participating families with approved home studies will get an unprecedented opportunity to be identified by child welfare workers across Florida who will begin using Family-Match to connect children with compatible families in Summer of 2018.
Thea Ramirez, a former social worker, started revolutionizing the way families come together years ago in the private adoption sector with Adoption-Share. The data-driven compatibility has been proven to reduce the wait time for prospective adoptive parents from an average of 18 months to as few as six months. Her next move brought these valuable tools to the public realm with Family-Match in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Ashley Brown, founder of Selfless Love Foundation, knew how much joy could be brought back home in the Sunshine State. Florida currently has about 800 children in foster care. The nonprofit, Selfless Love Foundation brought Family-Match to Florida agencies for free.
“There are 20 circuits and 17 lead agencies we’re working with. Training for agency staff should be completed by the end of August. We now have more than 400 families ready (to take a child), says Dr. Elizabeth Wynter, executive director of Family-Match.
Florida families started creating profiles in April. Children in foster care started being added in May. Families First Network was the first adoption agency to get a match, and so far there have been 11 matches and three child placements. This is exciting news for the rest of the state. The success of Family-Match is not only spreading hope, it’s bringing children home.
