We are now taking nominations for the Ruth Eden Bailey Adoption Advocacy Award – For the Love of Adoption. The award recognizes those that stand out in the area of Adoption Advocacy. The award was created in 2021 to recognized and honor Ruth’s passion, creativity, and empathy combined with her extraordinary advocacy efforts. Each year at least one recipient will be chosen who emulates Ruth’s advocacy efforts for children and families. The award will be presented at the Children’s Home Society’s Annual Conference on November 9, 2023. Past winners include Bob Noone, Adoption Attorney, and Abigail McFarland, Adoptive Parent.
About the Honoree
The Ruth Eden Bailey Adoption Advocacy Award was created to honor Ruth’s outstanding, life-long career of serving and advocating for children and families. Ruth absolutely loved her work which was obvious to everyone by her passion and persistence. Ruth always saw it as “just doing her job,” but we all know it was much more than that. For over 40 years, Ruth found homes for children and helped create families as a homefinder and adoption social worker.
Upon joining Children’s Home Society in 1993, she became the heart of our Princeton program as the expert in adoption everyone turned to in southern West Virginia and statewide. Although it is easy to list Ruth’s work experience, it is much harder to share the essence of the impact she had on children, families, her colleagues, and her community. Each and every day, Ruth advocated for her children and families. She valued the importance of policy as the foundation and guide in assessing and approving families, composing home studies, and supporting foster children and foster adopt families. She never hesitated to challenge policy, laws, legislature, or procedures when they did not appear to be in the best interests of children.
Selection Criteria
Awardees will be selected based on the description and evidence provided, which shows how they have contributed to improving the practice of adoption, supported adoptive families or birth families touched by adoption, and how they have advocated for permanency for all youth, regardless of age or history. The criteria for evaluating nominations may include, but are not limited to:
• Knowledge and passion in framing issues, solutions and “making the case” for positive
change.
• Actively champions issue(s) and plays a lead role in education and awareness and pushing
the limits of debate.
• Collaborates with others to further child well-being priorities, programs, and issues
related to adoption.
• Remains persistent, visionary, and positive
Please complete the Nomination Form below and submit no later than October 1, 2023.
To access the nomination form, scan the QR Code or click on the link below:
