Project 0 describes Heart Gallery, short films and Disney Extravaganza that led to adoptions

Christie Erwin, founder of Project 0, briefed the Senate Children and Youth Committee on the nonprofit’s work to find adoptive homes for children in Arkansas custody and on ways the organization promotes connections between waiting children and prospective families.

Project 0 operates a Heart Gallery of professional portraits and produces short films that let children tell their stories, Erwin said. “These short films will break you,” she told the committee, describing films that have led families to pursue long‑waiting children. The presentation included a short film vignette featuring a 15‑year‑old identified as Samuel; the presenter said DCFS adoption staff were working with a family after the film.

Erwin described the Disney Extravaganza — an annual connection event that resumed after pandemic interruptions — and provided participation figures: she said the event reached its 14th year, 71% of waiting children in Arkansas attended the most recent event, volunteers and organizations ran roughly 70 themed booths, and 36 children met their forever families during the three‑hour event.

On procedural questions, Erwin said DCFS handles legal processing and vetting for families attending events; Project 0 manages inquiry collection and logistics and shares lists of interested families with DCFS adoption specialists for follow‑up. Erwin told members Project 0’s online inquiry system logged more than 10,000 inquiries about Arkansas waiting children last year.

Committee members asked about the timeline and criteria for families to be approved to attend events; Erwin said the vetting process can take from roughly four to 12 months depending on training availability and required clearances but that DCFS sometimes completed final approval in time for late event participation.

Next steps: Project 0 will provide contact information and continue coordinating events with DCFS; committee members thanked Project 0 for the presentation.