encyclopedia of adoption

One Church, One Child

Program initiated on a local basis in 1981 by Rev. George H. Clements in Chicago at the Holy Angels Church, a predominantly black Catholic church. Clements' goal was to recruit black adoptive parents through local churches. Rev. Clements was named to the National Committee for Adoption's Hall of Fame in 1989 for his outstanding leadership and the great interest he generated in black adoptions.

for California

The One Church, One Child program became a national recruiting effort in 1988, and 32 states are using all or portions of the program. Its originally envisioned mission was to combine the resources of the church and the state to the end of recruiting black adoptive parents to provide permanent homes for black children awaiting adoption.

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