Heart Gallery Application: Heart Gallery of Lane County: A Family for Every Child

Case Workers

Click link below for professional bulletin portraits

Knowing how important a good photo is to recruitment, AFFEC is now offering to take professional photos for child bulletins. We are committed to a 2 week turn around (although caseworker or foster parent schedules may make this more difficult). We have developed our statewide list of photographers, that can, within a week of our call, photograph a child or sibling group. Within a week of images taken we will email the .jpg images to caseworkers. We then store all images for further recruitment tools if requested by the caseworker. All that is needed is the referral form linked above.

Heart Gallery

Heart Gallery Application -- The Heart Gallery of Lane County exhibits portraits to raise awareness of the needs of Lane County Children. They wait and hope for their own adoptive family, mentor, or court appointed special advocate (CASA) to love and protect them. Professional photographers volunteer to take compelling portraits showcased in the Heart Galleries. These beautifully framed and matted portraits then get displayed along with the children's biographies in various venues. On average, we receive over 50 inquiries per week about these children. DHS foster/adoption orientation class size, adoption inquiries, and general applicants to DHS have more than doubled since the inception of the Heart Gallery.

Adoption Recruitment Form -- Fill out this form for adoption recruitment options and we will contact you as soon as the bulletin is assigned.

Family Finding Referral Form

Heart Gallery Mentor Referral Form

Mentor-Foster to Adopt Form

Mentor Foster to Adopt Introduction Interview

Heart Gallery of America, Inc

Project Linus - Providing security through blankets

Northwest Adoption Exchange

Photolisting

A photo is worth a thousand words

What to Include in a
Child’s Photolisting Description

Preparing a Child for Photolisting

Child Interview Form

Sample Photolisting Descriptions

Life Books

Life Book Story Request- Do you need help with a life book? We have scrapbookers ready and willing to help you create memories for you children.

Click here for more information

For more information on the life story books or about participating in this program, please contact:

Pam Strickland pstrickl@elibertybank.com
OR
Christy Obie-Barrett 541-343-2856 or 877-343-2856

CAF employee adoptions:

There are two policies that address employees adopting DHS children. One is an Adoptions Program policy covering CAF employees and partners (defined in the policy) and the other is a DAS conflict of interest policy for CAF employees only, which follows more rigid rules and exceptions must be made for CAF staff to adopt children in DHS care. The exception is not made for people who work in CAF and want to be general applicant families. Exceptions can be made if the child is a relative or if the have an existing relationship with the employee. The employee should become familiar with policies on both situations.

Adoptions Program policy:
www.dhs.state.or.us - child welfare manual

CAF conflict of interest (DAS):
www.dhs.state.or.us - policy addendum