Wednesday's Child
Media recruitment programs for children with special needs that occur on Wednesday, Tuesday, Thursday, etc.; also known as "Tuesday's Child, Thursday's Child," etc.
Photographs of waiting children in newspapers with descriptions of the child encourage interested prospective parents to write or call state or agency social workers. Television programs show VIDEOTAPES of a waiting child, providing numbers of social workers who can offer further information.
Waiting child recruitment programs are very effective tools to identify families for older children and other children with special needs. They are cumbersome for social workers, because many people who call are only mildly interested and unwilling to spend the time needed for classes and counseling; however, most social workers believe that even one potential prospect makes the program well worth the effort involved.
In addition, although families who contact the social worker may not be suitable for the particular Wednesday's Child of the week, they could be a very good family for another child needing a home.
Critics of Wednesday's Child programs charge that corporations could not engage in such "bait and switch" advertising and promotion. They also allege that often the child's problems are minimized in an attempt to effect an adoptive placement.
Find more information on Wednesday's Child
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©2000 by Christine Adamec and William Pierce, Ph.D. Reprinted from The Encyclopedia of Adoption, 2nd Edition (2nd Edition) with permission of Facts On File, Inc.
