CREATING BETTER OUTCOMES FOR KIDS THROUGH INTELLIGENT IMAGINATION™
In our nation, thousands of children have suffered trauma, abuse, and neglect, and they need safe, loving homes. GOLD has served child welfare leaders throughout the Florida and around the world with effective marketing solutions to meet this need – and help break the cycle of abuse and neglect.
FOSTER & ADOPTIVE PARENT RECRUITMENT
A Proven Process
Just as every child is unique, so is each community. That is why our research-based Intelligent Imagination™ process has become the “GOLD standard” in foster and adoptive parent recruitment. Our approach is based on experienced gained from solving difficult marketing challenges for Fortune 50 companies. We utilize in-depth primary research and detailed strategic planning to tailor recruitment tactics and messages to achieve success in distinct markets and for a wide range of organizations.
The Florida Intelligent Recruitment Project (FIRP) demonstrated the effectiveness of our approach on a large scale and bested competing programs launched by several other states. A multi-year grant project from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with oversight from the Florida Department of Children and Families, FIRP applied GOLD’s research-driven marketing to recruit higher levels of foster and adoptive parents for youth 9-15 (including sibling groups).
CHILDREN’S NETWORK OF HILLSBOROUGH
“Reach Out” 1:30 Video
The project used diverse test sites across the state to measure the efficacy of our process across regional, cultural, and demographic groups. These included judicial circuits in Florida’s Panhandle, (Circuits 2 and 14), the Heartland region between Orlando and Tampa (Circuit 10), a largely rural area of Central Florida (Circuit 5), and Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties (Circuits 11 and 16) in South Florida. In each FIRP location, GOLD worked closely with the local Community-Based Care lead agency.
GOLD employed in–depth psychographic and behavioral research, with scores of one-on-one interviews and multiple statistical studies, to thoroughly evaluate the personalities, values, interests and motivators of foster and adoptive parents in each region. This allowed us to develop a 100+ page Strategic Recruitment Marketing Plan (SRMP) to serve as the FIRP initiative’s foundation, along with individualized solutions for the participating lead agencies.
Record-Setting Results
The hallmark of our work in the child welfare field has been our ability to substantially increase the quantity and quality of recruitment prospects. Several follow-up studies conducted over a 5-year period confirmed that the FIRP-participating agencies who followed GOLD’s recommendations achieved significantly higher levels of inquiries and recruitment. One agency, Kids Central in Circuit 5, led the entire state in recruitment. As a result, GOLD and Kids Central were asked to present at the annual CWLA Conference in Washington, as well as to members of Congress.
The success of FIRP led to the implementation of GOLD’s Intelligent Imagination™ approach worldwide. For instance, when the Cabinet Secretariat in India began reevaluating the nation’s child welfare system with his committee, GOLD was asked to consult with them on strategic messaging. And our process has been employed by numerous lead child welfare agencies across Florida, as well as the States of Georgia, Texas, and California.
A 2020 conversion study conducted with the Florida Coalition for Children among all of Florida’s lead agencies further confirmed that present and past GOLD clients who follow our marketing recommendations achieve greater numbers of inquiries and new foster beds for children. Indeed, our clients regularly report a 400+% increase in inquires generated in the first month of recruitment campaigns alone.
The following charts demonstrate GOLD’s recruitment success in distinct Florida markets. The chart for Kids Central shows the substantial increase in recruitment over a multi-year period in largely rural Central Florida. In South Florida, GOLD’s success for ChildNet (Broward and Palm Beach Counties) and Citrus Family Care Network (Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties) is demonstrated by the rapid and sustained increases in website engagement achieved following the launch of our recruitment campaigns (Click the chart for an enlarged view.):
CHILDNET, INC.
Website Engagement Results
- Sessions Increased — 1,559%
- Users increased — 1,401%
CITRUS FAMILY CARE NETWORK
Website Engagement Results
- Sessions Increased — 6,524%
- Users Increased — 5,613%
KIDS CENTRAL, INC.
Annual Recruitment Results
- Homes Increased — 197%
- Beds Increased — 174%
Creative Examples
The following are creative examples of recruitment marketing tools and tactics developed by GOLD for three clients in very different markets — Kids Central, ChildNet Palm Beach County, and Citrus Family Care Network:
CHILDREN’S NETWORK OF HILLSBOROUGH
“Reach Out” 1:30 Video
KIDS CENTRAL, INC.
“What it Takes to Foster” Recruitment Video
CITRUS FAMILY CARE NETWORK
“In This Together” :30 TV
CHILDNET BROWARD COUNTY
“Alone” :30 TV
CHILDNET PALM BEACH COUNTY
“Wish” :30 TV
ADDITIONAL CHILD WELFARE SERVICES
Case Manager Recruitment
GOLD implemented a first-of-its-kind case manager recruitment initiative for the Florida Coalition for Children and its partner agencies across the Sunshine State. This initiative included extensive interviews with case managers considered “the best” by child welfare organizations statewide followed by a survey distributed to all of their case managers. Our research allowed us to complete an in-depth strategic marketing plan to recruit and retain high-quality case mangers, and it was customized for each participating partner.
A major retention obstacle revealed in the research was that prospective case managers often did not understand the challenges of the career – leading to costly turnover and less stability for the children served. To address, this, we developed an immersive video:
Strategic Planning
In addition to our efforts in recruiting high-quality foster and adoptive parents and case managers, GOLD has performed strategic planning and other marketing services for a wide range of child welfare leaders. This has included research and strategic planning services for Family Support Services of North Florida, research and branding consultation for Children’s Home Society of Florida, marketing consultation with the Selfless Love Foundation, and research development for the Florida Department of Children and Families, to name but a few.
(For a list of additional child and family services clients, please visit our Clients page.)
FLORIDA COALITION FOR CHILDREN
“Get Real – Life as a Case Manager” Recruitment Video
Go for the GOLD
Teamwork has been called a strategic decision. We call it essential. By working closely with each client, our trademarked Intelligent Imagination™ process allows us to develop innovative solutions that achieve remarkable results. To learn how our strategic acumen can benefit your organization, please contact us at gold@strikegold.com.