To our dear families, friends and colleagues,
As new information becomes available daily about the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is impacting communities, I want to reassure you of Holt’s commitment to the children and families we serve.
For over 60 years, we have dutifully carried out Holt’s mission to ensure every child has a loving and secure home. We are closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world, and our leadership is meeting daily to assess the situation. We are maintaining a continual state of operational readiness around the globe to respond to this current crisis, with a particular focus on keeping the children and families we serve safe during this uncertain time.
As the nation’s oldest and largest international adoption and child welfare agency, we feel tremendous responsibility not only to the people we serve but to lead in times of crisis. While this crisis is unprecedented in Holt’s history, we have been planning for unforeseen global scenarios for years and we are prepared to respond to this current crisis. I’d like to share some information about our preparedness and response to COVID-19:
- We’ve implemented measures to protect the families and children we serve, our staff, and our partners, including suspending all non-essential business travel and utilizing technology to interact with clients and families where possible. We’ve also put enhanced cleaning and social distancing practices in place in our facilities.
- The majority of our staff have begun to work from home, and we have significantly limited the number of employees in the Holt offices, all of whom are now working staggered schedules. This ensures our ability to effectively run the organization. And through the use of technology, we can also effectively continue our work to support constituents and families as well as maintain forward progress on pending adoptions. You may experience some delays in responses, though, and we ask for your patience.
- Our objective is to ensure continuity of services to children and families to the greatest extent possible. Some of our program and service offerings will become available through teleconferencing, video conferencing, social media platforms, and other sources — please keep an eye out for notices to this effect.
- We have well-established relationships with governments and partner agencies across the U.S. and around the world, and we are in close communication with them about evolving measures being taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
- We are monitoring trusted information sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and we are communicating with staff, partners and government entities around the world. We are prepared to ensure services continue to the greatest extent possible under current restrictions. We will communicate service changes, if any, in a timely manner to you.
We will continue to adapt our approach to the evolving situation during this extraordinary time and have complete trust in our staff, our partners and in you. We are confident in our ability to persevere, together. Thank you for trusting us with your family, and your hopes and dreams for the future. Please reach out if you have any questions, or if we can support you in any way.
Sincerely,
