Fairfax County Department of Family
Services
12011 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 22035
For media inquiries, contact: Belinda Buescher
703-324-7758 TTY 703-222-9452
to Find Adoptive Families for County Children
For Immediate Release - November 8, 2004
Fairfax, VA – Verdia L. Haywood, deputy county executive for Fairfax County, announced today the official recruiting launch for Kidsave Fairfax Weekend Miracles at a lunch gathering of county employees.
“We want county employees and all interested county residents to know that they now have an opportunity to help local children in foster care find adoptive parents by hosting or mentoring a child,” Haywood said.
According to Carolyn Fowler, foster care and adoption program manager for the Fairfax County Department of Family Services, “Our goal is that no child leave foster care without a permanent, lasting connection to an adult. The Weekend Miracles program enables the county to reach out to the public to help children who are waiting for adoptive families,” said Fowler.
Beverly Howard, the county’s Kidsave Fairfax coordinator, explained that through Weekend Miracles an individual or a family works with a child to find an adoptive home. “We have many children currently in need of mentors and adoptive families,” said Howard. “All the children are over 10 years old. Most are African American boys.”
“We are looking for families to host the children on weekends over a three month period to help them find adoptive families,” Howard continued. “There is no commitment for the host family to adopt, but we ask that they introduce the children to the family’s circle of friends and take the children to planned events where potential adoptive families will be present.” Howard added that organizations and businesses also can support the program by hosting events for the children. “We will not allow these precious children to slip through the cracks,” she said.
"Kidsave Fairfax Weekend Miracles is an ideal public/private partnership," said Fowler. “It combines the social work expertise of Fairfax County Department of Family Services and the marketing support and coalition building of Kidsave International, a nonprofit organization. Our program is based on a model being used successfully by Kidsave International to help children from Russian, Kazakh and Colombian orphanages to find adoptive families in the United States.”
“Having a permanent family is vital to a child’s healthy development into adulthood,” Fowler continued. “With the help of Kidsave International, we are eager to involve the community in finding adoptive families for our children."
For more information about Kidsave Fairfax Weekend Miracles, go to www.kidsave.org or call 703-683-5437; TTY 711.
Fairfax County is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination
in all county programs, services and activities and
will provide reasonable accommodations upon request.
To request special accommodations, call 703-324-3535 or Virginia Relay
711.