Darrianne Richardson spent six years with WWK before finding her forever family, and most of her life in the foster care system from eight months of age. She is a vivacious and compassionate teen, despite the amalgamation of hurdles she’s faced in her life from a young age. Born with a laundry list of medical maladies, Darrianne’s life expectancy was grim, with professionals anticipating her untimely death before she ever had a chance to live. Her will to live has defied all odds, and she recently celebrated her 18th birthday.

Darrianne started with the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) program in 2011, with a dedicated CHSW team member working diligently to find a forever family for her. The Richardsons were captivated by Darrianne at a match event in 2016 and decided to pursue the adoption process. She was officially adopted on Oct. 25, 2017.

“[Director of Adoption Services] Courtney Angeles from WWK played a huge role in this process and made us feel supported every step of the way,” said Nora Richardson, Darrianne’s adoptive mother. “We were not planning on adopting a teenager, let alone [one] with complex medical needs. It was obvious that Courtney cared deeply about Darrianne, made time to be present, and checked in with us regularly throughout the process.”

In 2004, Children’s Home Society of Washington (CHSW) was chosen to be one of the original pilot organizations for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA) Wendy's Wonderful Kids program, starting with just two specialized adoption recruiters. In 2016, on the strength of CHSW’s program, Washington was selected by DTFA as one of the first seven states to participate in the national expansion of WWK.

The CHSW expansion effort launched in fall 2017 with the support of Gov. Jay Inslee. The WWK program is a public-private partnership of the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), DTFA and CHSW. Washington state’s 10-year child permanency initiative focuses on reducing the overall number of children languishing in the foster care system and youth aging out of the system without social support networks or permanent loving families. A national evaluation found that a child referred to the program is up to three times more likely to be adopted, especially teenagers, children with special needs, and siblings. 

“Our daughter never ceases to amaze us by her resilience and empathy. She's suffered some pretty tough stuff in life which I wouldn't wish upon anyone,” Nora remarked. “There are so many children out there in need of a family, children in need of dedicated professional advocates like the staff at Wendy's Wonderful Kids to help them find a forever family. They deserve it.”

CHSW has worked in partnership with DTFA since 2004, with the expansion efforts launched in 2017. Learn more about our WWK work since the start of our work, through the expansion, to present in our Annual Impact Report.