MISSOURI EXTREME RECRUITMENT OVERVIEW

The Extreme Recruitment project goals and objectives of safety, permanency and well-being for  youth are based on priorities established by the Children’s Bureau in the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Extreme Recruitment is one of nine Diligent Recruitment Grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded to provide new strategies for foster children permanency in 2008. Missouri was one of 40 applications.

What is Extreme Recruitment?

Extreme Recruitment is a 12-20 week diligent recruitment program to improve permanency outcomes for youths who have been looking the longest for families in St. Louis City and County, Jefferson County and St. Charles County in Missouri.

The project utilizes intensive, individualized recruitment efforts to increase permanency for children through general, targeted and/or child-specific recruitment and wrap around services. 

The Extreme Recruitment project will strive to connect children with kin and supportive adults who can provide them a sense of identity, belonging and permanency.

What are the goals of Extreme Recruitment?

The Extreme Recruitment project goal is to serve a minimum of 150 youths who have been in the foster care system the longest by connecting 90 percent of those children with supportive adults and moving 70 percent to permanency.

To achieve these goals, Extreme Recruitment has created a partnership with Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division and 19 public and private partners in the St. Louis region.

How does Extreme Recruitment operate?

The Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition provides Extreme Recruitment activities, utilizing innovative methods of intensive Internet searches and Family Locators to locate kin and supportive adults from the past.

Children’s Home Society of Missouri provides “connector” services to resource families to assist them with navigating the licensing and placement process and to prepare the families for parenting Extreme Recruitment children.

The Missouri Institute of Mental Health is conducting a rigorous evaluation of Extreme Recruitment activities to determine if the outcomes meet the standards for evidence based practice. 

The Missouri Coalition of Children’s Agencies is the administrative services organization for the grant.

Year One of the Extreme Recruitment grant was designated for the preparation and planning for grant activities. Year Two of the grant fully implements the Extreme Recruitment activities beginning October 1, 2009.