DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — A local organization fighting to give foster children their dream of having a family is now using an algorithm-based technology to make that dream come true.
Selfless Love Foundation, a non-profit that supports and provides resources to foster children, has partnered with another non-profit that developed Family-Match, a program that allows case workers to match parents looking to adopt with children searching for a forever family.
Ashley Brown, Founder and CEO of Selfless Love Foundation, knew early on in her life that she wanted to do something great and something selfless.
"I always knew how lucky I was to be adopted, and I always had the desire of paying back that blessing, and that is selfless love," said Brown.
Brown's foundation focused on working with teenage foster children, those most difficult to find forever homes for because of their age.
"We have supportive housing for kids that have aged out, 18 to 23. We give them resources. It’s a partnership through Children’s Harbor," said Brown.
But that wasn’t enough, so Brown partnered with Adoption Share, another non-profit that spearheaded a game changer in the adoption world called Family-Match.
"It uses an algorithm and a compatibility assessment that was created by the former lead researcher of eHarmony to better match foster children with their forever family," said Brown.
Instead of families searching through the photos of children up for adoption, home-studied and verified families create a profile in the program and upload their stories, videos, and photos for case workers statewide.
"We’ve matched sibling groups, teenagers, we’re even finding families for 17 year olds," said Brown.
It also speeds up the process for those adoption-ready families who might otherwise have to wait years for a match. In the year and a half that Family-Match has been running in Florida, more than 260 foster children have been adopted by their forever families.
"These kids that are in foster care, they want nothing more than to have that gift of a family," said Brown.
To learn more about Family-Match, click here.