SAVE THE DATE! We will be holding our annual Foster Care Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday January 31 from 7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Here’s what you need to know: WHO should attend? Anyone who wants to advocate for better outcomes for children, youth and families involved in the foster care […]
You may have recently heard that after many months of working through a compromise on the Virginia State Budget, the General Assembly and the Governor have both officially adopted and enacted a new budget for Virginia for this fiscal year. But what you may not have heard is what impact that budget has on Virginia’s […]
In August, we welcomed our new CEO, Krystal Thompson, who worked as a social worker in the CHSVA Roanoke office in the 1990s! What a full-circle moment! Krystal officially started her new role in August after our interim CEO Mel Tull finished his time leading CHSVA. As the CEO, Krystal is responsible for the successful […]
Throughout the lifetime of adoption, loss, grief, identity, attachment, and trauma impact youth and their families. Youth are placed into foster care at no fault of their own. When a child experiences neglect, abuse, abandonment, or other issues that endanger their health or safety, they will be removed from their homes and placed into the […]
May is National Foster Care Month! The Children’s Home Society of Virginia understands that all members of child welfare play a crucial role in supporting children, youth, and families with foster care experience. We want to take this time to recognize these child welfare professionals – teachers, social workers, community health professionals, criminal justice workers, […]
November is National Adoption Month! The goals of National Adoption Month include: increasing national awareness of adoption issues. shining a light on the need for adoptive families for older children and teenagers in the foster care system. emphasizing the value of youth engagement. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Adoption Week in 1984. President […]
May is National Foster Care Month! National Foster Care Month is an initiative of the Children’s Bureau. Each May serves as a time to acknowledge and recognize foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help youth in foster care find permanent, loving homes. In Virginia, […]
The number of youth entering the foster care system has never grown at such a steep rate as it is now. There are currently more than 1,700 youth in Virginia foster care waiting to be adopted. Unfortunately, youth enter the foster care system due to neglect, parents’ substance abuse, and physical abuse. We know that […]
Did you know next month is Foster Care Awareness Month? Each May we take the time to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help children and youth in foster care find permanent homes and connections. Today, there are nearly 1,000 children in Virginia’s […]
What happens when youth age out of foster care? Research shows that when youth are no longer supported by the traditional foster care system, and therefore age out of foster care, they are “at-risk” for devastating outcomes: 1 in 4 will be incarcerated within 2 years. 1 in 5 will be homeless within 2 years. […]