Adoption from Foster Homes Collection

Adoption from Foster Homes Collection

What does a successful program that adopts pets directly from their foster homes look like? Foster caregivers have all the info they need to connect with adopters, meet with adopters and complete adoptions. Foster caregivers know and follow the organization's adoption philosophy. 

Foster programs that are most successful in the area of adoption from foster homes have the following key characteristics:

  • Pets can be adopted directly from foster homes.
  • Training and support are offered to fosters to learn about the adoption process, including meet-and-greets and the organization’s adoption philosophy.
  • Fosters are given the option of having the shelter complete the adoption if they prefer.
  • Fosters are a valuable part of the team making decisions for their foster pet.

This collection contains Maddie's University courses to help you train foster caregivers in conversation-based adoptions, as well as adoption procedures shared by successful programs.

keywords: foster collection

  • Adoption Counseling
    Contains 4 Component(s), Includes Credits

    Successfully navigate the adoption process, including adoption counseling for pets with medical and behavioral conditions

    The adoption process is the final step in finding new homes for shelter pets. It begins with getting to know the pet, writing a narrative and posting photos/video, continues to making a match with a potential adopter, and ends with sending the pet home with an adopter and providing support.

    This course provides guidance for navigating the adoption process, with an emphasis on adoption counseling. The course demonstrates the general adoption counseling process and then dives into adoption counseling for pets with behavior or medical conditions. Text content is supported by videos, infographics and exercises. All videos are shareable and all infographics are available for download so you can use them in training. 

    This course is eligible for 2.0 hours of credit from the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA). 

  • Open Cat Adoptions: Keep Them Moving, Get Them Home
    Contains 3 Component(s), Includes Credits

    Move cats through your system efficiently and into adoptive homes

    This course focuses on the efficient flow of cats through your organization and into adoptive homes. Students who complete this course will be able to create an open adoption philosophy for their organization and implement critical cat adoption process improvements. This course is authored by Monica Tarant, Chief Innovation Officer: Feline Lifesaving at Cincinnati Animal CARE with The Joanie Bernard Foundation. 

    Note: The contents of this course are nearly identical to those in the course Feline Lifesaving: Adoption. If you have taken that course, you do not need to take this one.

    This class has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

    barriers, application, foster, special needs, marketing

  • Open Dog Adoptions: Eliminating Roadblocks to Positive Outcomes
    Contains 3 Component(s), Includes Credits

    Remove barriers in your adoption process to increase lifesaving. While this is more dog- focused, this applies equally to cats.

    This class focuses on adoption philosophies and practices that will help you place more animals faster. You will examine research refuting common myths that act to place barriers to adoption and be prepared to create an adoption action plan for your organization. This course is authored by Clare Callison, Maddie's Canine Lifesaving Advisor at American Pets Alive!.

    This class has been pre-approved for 0.5 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

    equity, application, retention, adopters welcome

  • Ensuring Transparency While Keeping Marketing and Adoption Counseling Separate
    Contains 3 Component(s), Includes Credits

    Understand the science behind separation of marketing and adoption counseling to match pets with homes

    The changes you can make to maximize the potential for making emotional connections between pets and potential adopters and fosters are simple but powerful. This webcast will make the case for the separation of marketing and adoption counseling through reviewing the science behind how we form relationships and why warning labels work to keep consumers from taking products home.

    You’ll learn the difference between marketing and adoption counseling, what a “stop sign” is and how you can avoid them, and how to ensure that adopters and fosters are given full transparency about a pet’s history before they take them home.

    Afterwards, continue the discussion on Maddie's Pet Forum on Maddie's Pet Forum here: https://maddies.fund/WebcastEnsuringTransparency

    This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association.

    Presenters 
    Kelly Duer, Foster Care Specialist, Maddie's Fund
    Kristen Hassen, Director, American Pets Alive! and Human Animal Support services

    keywords adoptions. marketing, adoption counseling, foster, foster caregivers, transparency

    Kelly Duer (Moderator)

    Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist - Foster Care Specialist

    Maddie's Fund

    As Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist, Kelly's focus is on helping shelters and rescue organizations increase lifesaving through the implementation of robust foster care programs. Her role includes consulting with shelters, creating and providing training for organizations and their foster coordinators, writing and assisting with research on foster care.

    Kelly previously coordinated a foster program that brought orphaned children to the United States in order to find them permanent adoptive homes, worked as the Foster Expansion Coordinator for a national study of foster care, and assisted with the behavioral foster study that was conducted at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Her work with foster care and social media has been featured in many national publications, websites and networks, including Animal Sheltering magazine, the Huffington Post, Best Friends magazine, BarkPost, iheartdogs.com, HuffPost Live and Fox News.

    Clare Callison (Moderator)

    Maddie’s® Director of National Pet Supply and Demand

    American Pets Alive!

    Clare Callison is the Maddie’s® Director of National Pet Supply and Demand for American Pets Alive! and serves on the Board of Directors for CARE (Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity). She provides guidance and support to help organizations build robust lifesaving programs and improve operations to better serve people and pets. Clare specializes in helping organizations grow their transport relationships and increase their lifesaving through rescue partnerships and open adoption practices. Before joining American Pets Alive!, she was the Director of Operations for San Antonio Pets Alive for 5 years. Because of her heavy involvement, San Antonio has gone from a 28 percent live release rate to a 90 percent live release rate in over three years. Clare enjoys helping others seek lifesaving solutions to common challenges that exist in working in a high-volume, fast-paced animal welfare organization.

  • HASS: Adoption Requirements vs. Open Adoptions: A Conversation
    Contains 2 Component(s), Includes Credits

    The evidence shows open, barrier-free adoptions lead to the same positive outcomes—while saving more animals. If you’re considering a change to your adoption process but don’t know where to start, listen to this face-to-face conversation.

    Fenced yards, vet checks, home visits…are these restrictive adoption requirements standing in the way of pets getting adopted into loving homes? The evidence shows open, barrier-free adoptions lead to the same positive outcomes—while saving more animals. If you’re considering a change to your adoption process but don’t know where to start, listen to this face-to-face conversation led by Abbie Moore, CEO of Adopt-a-Pet.com to learn how to increase adoptions, connect more pets with people, and solve adoption program challenges. Abbie was joined by panelists Clare Callison, Maddie’s® Director of National Pet Supply and Demand at American Pets Alive!; Allison Cardona, Deputy Director of Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control; Stephanie Frommer, Senior Director of Operations at Humane Rescue Alliance; Luis Quintanilla, Executive Director of Humane Society of Harlingen; and Alisha Vianello, Program Director at Gateway Pet Guardians. This conversation is for you whether you are new to the concept of open adoptions, are examining your adoption process, or have concerns about open adoptions. It’s not just for shelters, either—foster-based rescue groups are invited to tune in. Hear a fresh, innovative perspective from this panel of experts.


    Presenter(s): Abbie Moore, CEO of Adopt-a-Pet.com; panelists Clare Callison, Maddie’s® Director of National Pet Supply and Demand at American Pets Alive!; Allison Cardona, Deputy Director of Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control; Stephanie Frommer, Senior Director of Operations at Humane Rescue Alliance; Luis Quintanilla, Executive Director of Humane Society of Harlingen; and Alisha Vianello, Program Director at Gateway Pet Guardians

    keywords: open adoption, decrease barrier, barrier-free, adoption, outcome, conversation, HASSwebinar

    HASS

  • Proactive Adoptions: Moving Pets on a Large Scale
    Contains 2 Component(s), Includes Credits

    Learn how to move pets on a large scale, apply best practices, and save a ton of lives.

    If you save them, they have all got to go to homes. Learn how to move pets on a large scale, apply best practices, and save a ton of lives. This presentation was recorded by Maddie’s Fund® at the 2019 American Pets Alive! Conference.

    Presenters: Frenden, Figueroa







    Increase Live Outcomes, Animal & Population Management, Community Outreach, Live Outcomes, open adoptions, remove barriers to adoption, live outcomes, adoption, high-volume adoption