Adoption-matching pilot to launch in Georgia Dec. 1

Innovative technology connects families with children waiting for adoption

ATLANTA– The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) has announced an innovative pilot program to help match families with children in foster care who are eligible for adoption.

The Adoption-Share’s Family-Match pilot is slated to begin on Dec. 1.

Officials say the program will utilize technology with predictive models to assist case workers with finding adoptive families for waiting children. With a compatibility assessment developed by the former lead researchers from eHarmony, this program aims to decrease the time for adoption placement, match children to families where they will flourish and improve case worker efficiency.

Over the last five years, the number of finalized adoptions has increased from 761 in 2015 to 1,410 in 2020 through focused efforts to find families for youths in Georgia’s foster care system.   “We believe the Family-Match program will help us find families for children in pilot regions who are without adoptive families. Many of these children are older, members of large sibling groups, or children who continue to deal with significant trauma, but – like all children – deserve to be part of loving, stable families,” said Candice L. Broce, Georgia DHS Commissioner and DFCS Director.

Currently, 300 children in Georgia await adoption. The Family-Match pilot will be implemented within three of the 14 DFCS regions of the state, and in two child placement agencies, to test its effectiveness within the Georgia child welfare context.

​“Adoption-Share’s Family-Match Program was birthed right here in Georgia, and we are incredibly excited to partner with DHS in evaluating our program for potential statewide implementation,” said Thea Ramirez, founder, and CEO of Adoption-Share.

Georgia families who are interested in adoption, are in an adoption training, or who have an approved home study to adopt will be able to register for Family-Match.

Participating families may be identified by child welfare workers within the pilot regions who are looking to connect children with the most compatible homes. Interested families can register or learn more at family-match.org.