Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child
Finding Adoptive Homes for Children
Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child—an Emmy-nominated program
with a proven track record of success—is part of the Freddie
Mac Foundation's national campaign to increase adoptions of foster
children.
Each week, a child in foster care who is available for adoption
is featured on the local evening news.
During a segment hosted by a popular local newscaster, viewers
are encouraged to learn more about helping these children find homes,
and a phone number is provided.
The children who are featured are usually
the most difficult to place since they are often older, in sibling
groups, and may have health and developmental needs. For these children,
this program is often their last chance to find a permanent home
and a family.
The Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child program started
in the Washington, DC metropolitan area in 1992, a partnership with
NBC-4 and the Council of Governments. Its phenomenal success there
encouraged the Freddie Mac Foundation to expand the program nationwide.
Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child is now shown in five
cities: DC, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Philadelphia.
The results have been outstanding. More than 1,400 children have been adopted or are on their way to adoption in permanent, loving homes, giving them a chance for a brighter future. And more than 42,000 viewer inquiries have been generated from people interested in becoming foster and adoptive parents.
| There are more than half a million U.S. children
in foster care. More than 129,000 are waiting for a permanent home.
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Foster Care and Adoption:
An Urgent Need, a National Crisis
More than half a million children in the U.S are living in foster care and
129,000 are waiting for placement with a permanent adoptive family. Nationally,
the number of adoptions has remained relatively stable, while the number of
children in foster care continues to grow.
Children in foster care typically
enter the system because of abuse, neglect or some other serious
dysfunction in their family. When children grow up without permanent
homes, they are in great danger of emotional trauma, problems in
school, risky behaviors, trouble with the law and poor life outcomes.
Studies show that children who have grown up in foster care are
overrepresented in the homeless and prison populations. Children
need a place to call home and a family to love.
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Our Commitment to Foster Care and Adoption Programs
Freddie Mac is in the business of putting people into homes by
helping to finance them. Through our philanthropy, we also help
find homes for children who have none at all. The Freddie Mac Foundation
has made finding permanent, loving homes for children in foster
care one of its highest priorities. The Foundation has provided
more than $25 million to support Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child USA, our national
campaign to increase adoptions.
Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child Web Site
The Foundation and the National Adoption Center have launched a national Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child website,
www.adopt.org/wednesdayschild,
that highlights foster children in need of immediate adoptive families.
The site features children available for adoption who appear on
the Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child weekly television segments.
Download
Freddie Mac Foundation's Wednesday's Child brochure PDF [PDF 4.5M]
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