In recent years, Holt International has made a significant shift from serving children primarily through adoption to helping tens of thousands more children every year to remain in the loving care of their birth families. Below, Holt President and CEO Phil Littleton shares how Holt has grown and changed in the years since our founding in 1956.
Looking back, I feel so proud of Holt’s journey as an organization. In 1956, our founders pioneered the modern practice of international adoption — overcoming legal and cultural barriers to unite children born overseas with loving adoptive families in the U.S. They believed that every child deserves to grow up in a home of his or her own. And by adopting children born of a different race and nationality, they redefined the notion of family.
Today, we still share the vision of our founders. We still believe that love transcends barriers of race, religion and nationality. And we still seek a world where every child has a stable, loving home. But as Holt has grown over the years, we have also progressed as an organization — developing a core philosophy around which we have built robust, child-focused programs that directly meet the needs of over 322,000 children annually and in total reach over one million children, families and individuals in 17 locations across the globe.
The vast majority of the children we serve are not on track for adoption. In fact, every year, Holt serves tens of thousands more children through family strengthening programs than we do through adoption. We believe, first and foremost, that whenever possible children should grow up in the loving care of their birth families. Through the years, this fundamental belief has led our organization to become a global leader in family preservation and reunification — providing the tools and resources that empower families to grow stable, self-reliant and equipped to independently care for their children.
We believe, first and foremost, that whenever possible children should grow up in the loving care of their birth families.