News and Publications

The 16-year-old girl who suffered years of severe abuse at the hands of her parents. The sibling group of toddlers who were left hungry and abandoned by their parents in a filthy motel room.
As we celebrate National Adoption Month in November and recognize how Virginia’s child and family service agencies have made some important strides toward helping at-risk children and youth, we must not forget that much work remains.

But Virginia, which has the distinction of being one of the worst states in the nation for allowing children and youth to languish in the public foster care system, has begun to embrace a strategic response to some significant human service challenges.

This response was spurred by the fact that the Commonwealth has been allowing children to turn 18 and “age out” of the foster care system – effectively going out on their own without a permanent family - at a faster rate than any other state in the nation. The lack of permanence in the lives of youth makes adjustment to adulthood especially difficult and has other lasting consequences. Of the total number of youth who “age out” of foster care, one in four will be incarcerated within two years of leaving the system, one in five will become homeless, and one in six will not graduate from high school.

These statistics reflect a sobering reality about the outcomes experienced by youth who come out of the system. In addition, these outcomes have great implications for all of our communities, especially when one considers the significant costs incurred when a person is incarcerated, becomes homeless or is underemployed.

In response to challenges like these, Virginia launched the Virginia Children’s Services System Transformation initiative in 2007. This initiative was designed to intensively change the way our public system helps at-risk children and their families. With the help of First Lady Anne Holton’s For Keeps Initiative, the Commonwealth began creating a shared vision for children who are in the foster care system. Virginia’s current administration is commended for the fact that this initiative has been spreading across Virginia, producing better outcomes for children and families.

These improved outcomes include a 10 percent reduction in the total number of youth in the public foster care system, a 30 percent decrease in the number of youth placed into group homes and a 6 percent increase in the number of youth who are placed in family like settings. These accomplishments are being made in a manner that is saving taxpayer dollars.
Still, we must not lose site of the alarming reality that on any given day in our Commonwealth, there are nearly 1,500 children in the foster care system waiting for a permanent family of their own. The trauma that brings a child into the public system begins to heal when a child is moved into a loving permanent family.

During difficult economic times it can become easy for leadership to slow its investment in human services – especially services involving the plight of children who may lack vocal advocates for their cause. We must maintain – and in many cases expand - the momentum that is resulting in improved outcomes for children and families throughout the Commonwealth. That is how we will relinquish our distinction as one of the worst states in the nation at addressing the foster care to permanency challenge.

Children are the most vulnerable segment in today’s society – and our most valuable resource for the future. Our investment in the children of today will help them become the productive citizens of tomorrow. Families are a tremendous source of hope and inspiration for success in the lives of young people. Strong families are also the foundation of strong healthy communities. When young people do not have the opportunity to be raised as a part of a permanent family, our entire community feels the impact.

Through the continued establishment of polices set by state leadership that make adoption a priority, implementation of these policies at the local level, and a public embrace of the needs of children to become part of a permanent family, Virginia will assure that all our children experience better outcomes. We should encourage whichever administration assumes the helm of our great Commonwealth to continue the noteworthy efforts of the current state leadership to recognize that – as cliché as it may sound – an investment in our children is an investment in our future.