Release #365-00

 

Contact:	Sunny Mindel/Lynn Rasic (212) 788-2958
	Jack Deacy/Jennifer Falk (ACS)

Wendy's Founder Dave Thomas Helps ACS Celebrate Record Breaking
21,000 Adoptions in New York City

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Administration for Children's Services (ACS) Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today hosted the 23rd annual NYC Adopt 2000: Finding Families for Children in Central Park's East Meadow. Wendy's Founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted when he was six weeks old, joined the Mayor and the Commissioner to help celebrate the record breaking 21,139 adoptions completed in the past six years (FY '95 - '00). This is an increase of almost 54 percent over 10,181 adoptions completed during the previous six fiscal years ('89 - '94).

NYC Adopt 2000 is a large-scale celebration of adoption where prospective parents and adoption professionals from more than 45 adoption agencies meet and exchange information about the process of adopting a child through the City of New York. Kathy Shepherd, Executive Producer of the WB11 Care for Kids Campaign, emceed the program, which included special guest speakers Reverend Doctor Gregory McCants, who gave the invocation; Janice Huff, NBC 4's meteorologist and host of Wednesday's Child; and Shane Salter, an adoptive parent and Director of Corporate Giving at the Freddie Mac Foundation, which sponsors of the Wednesday's Child program.

Mayor Giuliani said, "I welcome all New Yorkers to NYC Adopt 2000. This year's event promises to be the biggest and best ever as we celebrate our successes in finding homes for 21,139 children over the last six years. There is nothing more important to a child than a loving, stable family. And no one knows this better than Wendy's Founder Dave Thomas who is here today to talk about what being adopted has meant to him and what it could mean for the thousands of children across the country who wait for permanent homes.

The Mayor added, "For those children in our City's care, finding every one of them a permanent home means providing them with the best possible opportunity to realize their full potential. I urge New Yorkers who can, to give a child a brighter future by opening their hearts and their homes to a waiting child."

Dave Thomas said, "New York City, under the Mayor's leadership, has done a great job of taking the red tape out of adoption! Foster care is meant as a temporary solution--not a permanent one. I'm glad I'm here today to celebrate adoption--it means a lot to me."

Commissioner Scoppetta said, "Mayor Giuliani has done more to improve child welfare in the past five years than any administration in the last three decades. His continuing support makes possible both substantive reform and events like NYC Adopt 2000. Every child needs someone to provide him or her with a lifetime of love and support, and there are almost 1,000 children in care right now who do not have that special someone. Thanks to the combined efforts of ACS, the State Office of Children and Family Services, and the New York City Family Court, we are making children's wishes come true and with your help, we will make them come true for our 1,000 waiting children."

During the afternoon, hundreds of prospective parents visited information booths staffed by over 45 adoption recruitment agencies and attended orientation sessions and educational workshops including titles like "Adoption from A to Z." Some of the more specialized workshops covered topics including adopting pre-teens and teens, and special needs adoptions.

In addition, there was family entertainment throughout the day. Activities included musical performances by the NYC Boys Choir and Linda Ipanema & the Dixie Cats, the Central Park Marionette Troupe's production of "The Reluctant Dragon," face painting, petting zoo, and air castles.

Of the 32,500 children in the care of ACS, as many as one-fourth will eventually need an adoptive home. Most of these children live with pre-adoptive families but as many as 1,000 still need a home to call their own right now. ACS's adoption campaign, which is funded in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, focuses on finding homes for these children. Campaign initiatives include:

• The Wednesday's Child program. Sponsored by the Freddie Mac Foundation, the program features a NYC foster child or sibling group in need of a permanent family each Wednesday during NBC4's 5 p.m. news (and again during the Sunday a.m. news). The program, hosted by NBC4 Meteorologist Janice Huff, began in April 1999.
  
  
• The NYC Family Album, is a color photo album of NYC's waiting children that provides prospective parents with an introduction to the foster children in ACS's care who are waiting to be adopted.
  
  
• "Should I Adopt?" is a public service announcement campaign launched Winter 1998. Print advertisements appeared on buses, subways, in subway stations across the City and in community newspapers. Radio and television spots are available upon request.
  
  
• The ACS Parent Recruitment Hotline (212) 676 - WISH (9474), advertised through various mediums, including a parent recruitment public service announcement featuring Mariah Carey, is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and is staffed by trained adoption representatives who can answer questions about adoption process in English and Spanish.

The Mayor's Office and ACS acknowledge the following event sponsors: Wendy's Restaurants in the Tri-state area, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Freddie Mac Foundation, WB11 Care for Kids Campaign, WWRL Radio 1600, NBC Newschannel 4, NYC Parks and Recreation and the NYS Office of Children and Family Services.

In addition, the following organizations made donations to this year's event: the Adoption Action Network, Aqua Cool, Arizona Beverage, Carvel, Coca Cola Bottling Company of New York, CYMK Film Lab, Drakes/Hostess, Edy's Grand Ice Cream, Entenmann's, Frito-Lay, Good Humor-Breyers, Lipton, Silhouette Ice Cream, Snapple, Tropicana, Wise Foods, and Yorkshire Foods.

For more information about adopting or fostering a NYC child, please call the ACS Parent Recruitment Hotline at (212) 676-WISH (9474). Outside of New York State, call toll-free at (877) 676-WISH (9474). Toll-free number provided courtesy of Wendy's Restaurants in the Tri-state area.

www.nyc.gov