[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 96 (Monday, June 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAVE THOMAS FOUNDATION 
                              FOR ADOPTION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PATRICK J. TIBERI

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 25, 2012

  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Dave Thomas 
Foundation for Adoption on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.
  The Foundation was established in 1992 by Dave Thomas as a public 
charity with one primary goal: to help every child in foster care find 
a loving, permanent family. Throughout its history, the Foundation has 
set forth on a mission of dramatically increasing the number of 
adoptions of waiting children.
  For 20 years, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has committed 
itself to finding permanent families for the more than 100,000 children 
waiting in the United States foster care system.
  The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption awards grants to public and 
private adoption agencies all across the country. Last year these 
grants totaled more than $8 million and focused on supporting adoption 
professionals who implement proactive, child-focused recruitment 
programs targeted exclusively on moving the longest-waiting children 
from foster care into adoptive families. This signature program is 
Wendy's Wonderful Kids (WWK).
  The results from an empirical five-year case study on WWK were 
released in October, 2011. The research showed that children in the 
program are up to three times more likely to be adopted.
  The Foundation also supports employers through the Adoption-Friendly 
Workplace program, is a founding member of National Adoption Day, and 
is a proud partner of the annual television special, A Home for the 
Holidays.
  The Foundation is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau 
Wise Giving Alliance, Standards for Excellence certified, and has 
received the highest possible rating on Charity Navigator. The 
Foundation has helped more than 3,000 children find their forever 
families and provided information and support to tens of thousands of 
potential adoptive families.
  For these reasons, I am proud to applaud the Dave Thomas Foundation 
for Adoption and its dedicated staff for their extraordinary 
contributions to the people of Ohio's 12th Congressional District and 
throughout the United States.

                          ____________________