The Department provides funding and technical support for a successful minority adoption program called One Church One Child. Founded in Chicago in 1980, the program seeks to recruit one family from each African-American church to adopt a waiting African-American child. The program expanded statewide in 1984. Today, One Church One Child programs operate in 30 states and in the District of Columbia, making it one of the most successful adoption programs in the nation. In Illinois alone, One Church One Child outreach efforts have helped thousands of children find adoptive homes. Illinois' One Church program regularly hosts community meetings and press conferences throughout the state.