Does an AI tool help boost adoptions? Key takeaways from an AP Investigation

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Ramirez declined interview requests but said in an email that “Family-Match is a valuable tool and helpful to users actively using it to support their recruitment + matching efforts.” Here are some takeaways from the investigation: ROOTED IN FAITH Ramirez, of Brunswick, Ga. where her nonprofit is also based, got her start building a website meant to bring prospective adoptive parents together with mothers giving up their babies for adoption. INSPIRED BY ONLINE DATING Ramirez recruited research scientist Gian Gonzaga, asking if he would team up with her to create an adoption matchmaking tool based on compatibility, to help child welfare agencies find adoptive parents for foster children. An eharmony spokesperson said the company had no involvement with Family-Match and called the pair “simply former employees.” DEFT LOBBYING From former first lady Melania Trump to governors’ offices in Georgia and Virginia, Ramirez has worked connections to land contracts. TEST CASE: FLORIDA Ramirez has highlighted the tool’s penetration in Florida’s privatized child welfare system as she has tried to court philanthropic support and new business in New York City and Delaware.