Three Rivers Adoption Council because every child needs a family

United Way Contributor Choice #324

Pennsylvania West Combined Federal Campaign # 25198

Annual Report FY2014

Mission & Vision

Three Rivers Adoption Council’s (TRAC) mission is to create and provide adoption opportunities and a

range of services for all children growing up without permanent, caring families.

TRAC’s Vision is to be viewed statewide as the highest quality provider of innovative family-focused

adoption services with an emphasis on African-American and special needs children as measured by our

key stake holders:

children and families,

employees,

funders,

member and peer agencies, and

all levels of government

Awards

Recipient of the "Supporters of the Village" presented by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority,

Incorporated - 2013.

Honorable Mention recipient of the Community Partnership Award by Mutual of America -

2011.

Honored as a Congressional Angel in Adoption presented by the Congressional Coalition

on Adoption (CCAI) - 2010.

Honored as a Congressional Angel in Adoption presented by the Congressional Coalition

on Adoption (CCAI) - 2005.

Presented with the Faith Based Recruiting Award at the Statewide Adoption and Permanency

Network (SWAN) Conference. - 2004.

Honored as a Congressional Angel in Adoption presented by the Congressional Coalition

on Adoption (CCAI) - 2003.

Recipient of the Adoption 2002 Excellence Award given by President Clinton - 1998

Affiliations

TRAC is a member of the following organizations:

Adoption Exchange Association

National Black Child Development Institute

North American Council on Adoptable Children

Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network

United Way

About TRAC

Since its inception 35 years ago, TRAC has worked so that no child

will have to face a life without permanency.

TRAC was founded by adoptive parents and professionals and

established as a volunteer staffed project of the Junior League of

Pittsburgh. Today, TRAC is a United Way Agency that serves as the

central resource for permanency information, family recruitment,

placement of special needs children, post-permanency support,

education and referral services.

Adhering to the permanency standards of the Child Welfare League

of America, TRAC is a multi-service agency serving children who

cannot remain with their birth families and the resource families who

provide these children permanence. Primarily, the children served

fall into several categories. More than half are African America;

many are older and/or part of a sibling group who need to stay

together; and others have emotional, physical, or mental disabilities.

Most of these children have experienced multiple moves in the foster

care system and a high percentage have been victims of abuse and

neglect. TRAC works with public and private agencies to implement

cooperative, cost effective programs to meet the placement and post

-placement needs of these children.

TRAC provides recruitment, information and referral services,

counseling, family preparation, post adoption services, and parent

and professional education services, to achieve and maintain

maximum permanency opportunities for children and their families.

TRAC consists of the following programs:

Adoption Resources

Black Adoption Services

Family Connections

Finding and supporting permanent resources for waiting children is

essential. The failure to do so constitutes a great potential loss to

society because children who grow up without families are at risk

throughout their lives to become involved with the criminal justice,

mental health and homeless populations.

That’s why TRAC believes so strongly that EVERY CHILD NEEDS A

FAMILY.

Board of

Directors

Rufus Barnes, President

Eaton Corporation

Denise O’Connor, Vice

President

Community Volunteer

Robin Beckham

Beckham Media

Sarah Datt

H.J. Heinz

Elizabeth Hays, SPHR

Mars Home for Youth

Kathy Humphrey, Ph.D

University of Pittsburgh

Marcie Knittle

Huntington Bank

Mt. Ararat Baptist Church

Deacon Cheryl Morris

Adoption Resources

Adoption Resources/Recruitment and Retention: Family Recruitment and education programs to increase the number of families

willing and able to adopt, foster or provide respite care. Adoption Resources also includes:

Waiting Child

Sponsored by SWAN, KDKA-TV airs a bi-monthly segment entitled Waiting Child. The segment features older children who are

awaiting adoption.

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids

Since becoming a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) grantee in 2007, TRAC has served 130 children, matching 58 children with

their forever families.

Program Highlights

Conducted 93 recruitment contacts through businesses,

churches and community events.

Provided information/assistance to 264 families.

Conducted 46 information meetings with 63 families.

Hosted 3 matching events, with over 50 agencies.

Attended 11 matching events statewide.

Coordinated 21 features for KDKA’s Waiting Child

Segment

68% of the children featured in the waiting child have

found permanent homes

9th year of being awarded the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids

grant, the only agency in Western PA.

Provided CSR services to 18 children through the Wendy’s

Wonderful Kids program

Adoption and Foster Care Services

TRAC has provided culturally sensitive support to families from pre-service training, through the homestudy process, placement

and eventual finalization. TRAC is a full service adoption/foster care agency, providing:

• Family training

• Family profiles

• Matching services

• Child profiles

• Placement/finalization supervision services

Program Highlights

22 families have completed pre-service training.

Completed 37 family profiles.

Placed 45 children into permanent homes, ranging in ages

from newborn to 13 years old.

Finalized 23 adoptions.

Reduced agency disruption rate to 9%, the national

average for adoption disruption is 25%

Completed assessment for the Human Rights Campaign's

All children—All families, the only agency in Western

Pennsylvania.

Completed 155 child profiles.

Served 1,016 children and families, and provided 2,513

matches.

Assisted in the placement of 7,249 children since 1979.

Since 1979, this program has assisted in 5,064

placements, and provided services to 5,099 families &

12,174 children

Since 1988, we have place 475 children with permanent

homes

Family Connections TRAC’s Family Connections program focuses on educating both the parent and child to understand what has happened to them

in their journey through the child welfare system. Family Connections program also focuses on maintaining and/or restoring

relationships and creating healthy families through;

Outpatient Therapy

Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN) referred services include

Case Management

Support Group

Child prep

Respite

Re-Connections

Services for families working toward reunification.

Program Highlights Completed 48 family assessments.

82 families received case management services.

60 families received respite services

238 families received consultation & referral services.

110 Children received Child Preparation services.

Provided 147 clients with adoption focused therapy (family and individual)

and Therapeutic Supervised Visitation (TSV)

215 parents and children attended 7 Chat N Chill support group sessions.

Family Re-Connections TRAC's outpatient therapy department has traditionally worked with those who have been adopted, both children and adults,

and their families. We continue to provide outpatient therapy services to the adoption community.

In addition to our traditional services we are pleased to announce our new therapeutic program: Family Re-connections. Family

Re-connections provides either therapeutic supervised visitation and/or family therapy to families who need to re-establish or

strengthen their family connections.

The program is offered to any type of family - biological, kinship, foster or adoptive that needs assistance in building, rebuilding

or repairing family relationships. Family Re-connections typically addresses the following themes within the therapeutic process:

Sharing and understanding individual and family stories, the role of developmental trauma in the family story, parental capacity

for positive emotional responses to self and child, positive parent-child communication, and trust enhancing activities via family

rules, family fun and the ability of the parent to meet the child's basic developmental needs.

The outpatient therapy department offers individual therapy, family therapy, play therapy, parenting classes or a combination of

services to meet each family's individual needs. The outpatient therapy department utilizes trauma informed care in addition to

a variety of evidenced based modalities during the therapeutic process including Trust Based Relational Interventions, Parent

Child Interaction Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

All of the therapists working in the outpatient department possess a Masters degree in Social Work or Counseling. They all pos-

sess a LSW, LCSW or LPC license. A variety of insurances are accepted by the outpatient therapy department.

Thank You to Our Donors Our sincere thanks to the foundations, businesses and individuals who assist TRAC in providing programs and services, for little

or no cost, to thousands of families and children every year. Every dollar counts!

Foundations

American Eagle Outfitters

Foundation

Anonymous

Dave Thomas Foundation

for Adoption

Eaton Foundation

Pittsburgh Child Guidance

Foundation

The Pittsburgh Foundation

Richard King Mellon

Foundation (Year 2 of 3)

Stanny Foundation

Corporate & Business

Sponsors and Donors

Amcom Office Systems

Anonymous

Bender Consulting Services,

Inc

Black Box Corporation,

Matching Gift

BNY Mellon

CBRE

Citizens Bank

Daily Good

Deacon's Cleaning Services

Eaton Corporation

EQT Corporation, Matching

Gift

Giant Eagle/Bill Bricker,

Cedar Avenue

Highmark

Huntington National Bank

Jendoco Construction &

Real Estate

KDKA - TV

Liberty Mutual, Employee

Giving Program

Mutual of America

PNC Bank

Rice Enterprises, LLC

Ron Foth Advertising

Sitko Bruno, LLC

Trust-Franklin Press Co.

University of Pittsburgh,

Division of Student Affairs

Wendy’s International

Wilke & Associates, LLP

$1,000+

The Datt Family

The Knittle Family

The Whitney-Shipley Family

$500 - $999

Dale Elder

Karen Gordon

The Rhoades Family

Randy Rihmland

Jacqueline Wilson

$100 - $499

Harold Beazell

Cynthia Beazell Krchnavy

Phyllis Beck

Krista Brownlee

Margot Callahan

Jami Lyn Duane-Brady

Phillip Elliott

Philip Engel

Holly Garofalo

Ja-Neen Jones

Patty Kuniak

Anne Lazarus

Jamie Malinowski

Kenneth Mann

Pamela Martello

Khalilah Martin

Valerie McDonald-Roberts

Kristin Montanti

Robert O'Connor

Patrick Riley

James Rothrauff

Kelly Ryan-Schmidt

Jennifer Stewart

Betsy Teti

Jennie Thye

Stacia Todd

Tara Weiss

$1 - $99

Joetta Adams

Cheryl Anderson

Jessica Antell

Mary Ann Augustine

Joan Barden

Leah Bauer

Norman Bier

Keith Bittel

Chenelle Brown

Carmen Bruce

Ronald Donaldson

Joshua Estner

Russell Felix

Christopher Galanos

Paul Herbert

Elizabeth Kennedy

Richard Klein

Melanie Koenig

MaryAnn Kohler

MIa Mannion

Susan Mattay

Kristen Matthews

Michael McBride

Barbara Muller

Meghan Nagle

Theresa Nichol

Tracey Olanyk

Mark Panichella

Geneva Patterson

Nadine Porter

Jessica Rathbone-Davila

K. Marlene Roberts

Sherry Roberts

Candice Robinson

Kelly Sagel

Mike Schwartz

Jordan Shoenberger

Stephanie Staley

Nichole Turnbull

Sonia Vegas

Andrew Weinberg

In Kind Contributions

Andy Warhol Museum

Anonymous

Babb Insurance, LLC

Rufus Barnes

Big Burrito Restaurant

Group

Buckhead Saloon

Jamie Callen

Sarah Datt

Capital Grille

Cara Rufenacht Creative

Caring for Others, Inc.

Carnegie Museums of Art

and Natural History

Carnegie Science Center

CentiMark

Children's Museum of

Pittsburgh

Circle Line Siteseeing

Cruises

Dave & Buster's

Kara Decker

DeLuca's Diner

FedEx Ground

James Fillar

Greater Cleveland

Aquarium

Grippo Enterprises, Inc

Elizabeth Hays

Heinz History Center

Hilton Garden Inn -

Cleveland

Journeys of Life

Just Ducky Tours

KDKA-TV

Ken's Store

Mark Maehling

Milla C. Photography

Richard Nagle

National Aviary

Denise O'Connor

Oakmont Bakery

Original Oyster House

Phipps Conservatory

Phipps Conservatory and

Botonical Gardens, Inc.

Pittsburgh CLO

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Pittsburgh Marriott (Center

City)

Pittsburgh Opera

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Steak Company

Pittsburgh Symphony

Orchestra

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG

Aquarium

Porter Loves Photography

Pro Football Hall of Fame

PromoWest North Shore

Darcey Livingston Rhoades

Trixie Rife

Seven Springs Mountain

Resort

Sparta Steakhouse

Walt Disney World

Jacqueline Wilson

Wylie Images

Wyndham Grand Hotel

And grateful thanks our

volunteers, especially the

Mellon Volunteer

Professionals who dedicate

countless hours every year to

the TRAC office!

Funding Three Rivers Adoption Council (TRAC) is funded by contracts through Allegheny County Department of Human Services, The

Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN), The United Way of Allegheny County, private foundations, corporations

and individual donations. We recognize with gratitude and appreciation our supporters who enable us to promote permanency

for children.

A Note from the Treasurer

An audited financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014 is available A copy will be provided upon request.

2014 Revenue

2014 Expense

A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Pennsylvania

Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999.

Registration does not imply endorsement.

FY2014 Highlights

Hosted the 17th annual Celebration of Families matching event at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG

Aquarium for over 500 participants.

Presented 2 trauma focused conferences, educating over 100 professionals and parents

Conducted 2 respite retreats serving 87 participants

Over130 guests attended the 2nd

Annual Make a Joyful Noise Gospel Extravaganza

Hosted internships for 12 Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral level students from 3 Universities

10 staff members presented workshops and trainings at 4 different conferences nationwide

4 professional photographers donated their time to shoot portraits for 30 families

Kelly Ryan-Schmidt & Stacia Baraka-Todd instructed the Child Permanency course for the School of

Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh.

Ja-Neen Jones has been featured on WAMO, WGBN, KDKA Waiting Child, & awarded as Women

Who Network by Ralph Watson – Networking Associates. Ms. Jones also taught Academic & Personal

Development at Community College of Allegheny County.

Our CEO, Dr. Jacqueline Wilson, PhD, LSW, has been featured on KDKA Waiting Child, Pittsburgh

Today, The Lynne Hayes-Freeland Show, The Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh Urban Media & Awarded as a

Leader in Social Services by Ralph Watson – Networking Associates.

Too many children and teens await permanency.

25,000 teens age-out of the child welfare system each year.

Many of whom will live a life of homelessness and criminal activity.

Financial assistance for adoption is available.

You can adopt if you are a loving adult willing to make a lifelong commitment to a child.

It’s never too late to make a difference in the life of a waiting child.

Make an informed decision.

Get your questions answered.

Call

412-471-8722

or visit us on the web!

www.3riversadopt.org