Printer
TextFoster Care and Adoption
A child in your community needs you.
Who are these children?
There are children in Fairfax County whose worlds have turned upside down—kids who need a safe haven during difficult times. Due to abuse or neglect, they need a foster home. They range in age from infant to 20 and come from diverse backgrounds. About half the children in foster care in Fairfax County are of African American heritage, and the number of Hispanic children needing foster care grows each year. These children have experienced devastating losses of family and identity, and they search for a sense of belonging. Their confidence and feelings of self-worth are shattered, leaving them frightened and alone.
What do they need?
These youth need foster and adoptive parents; they do best in stable, nurturing homes. They need someone in their corner, so they can learn to trust again. Like all children, they need day-to-day guidance and support from loving adults.
What is the Foster Care and Adoption Program?
Today, about 475 Fairfax County children are in foster care. The Foster Care and Adoption Program offers placements for these children and services to help their families. When a child cannot return home safely, we seek adoption or other permanent placement.
Who can foster and adopt?
Foster and adoptive parents are ordinary people who care about children and want to make a difference in their lives and futures. They receive training and supportive services, including financial assistance, counseling and child care.
“There’s always the uncertainty of what will happen to the child in the
end, but an element of bonding takes place right away. With my daughters,
it was love at first sight.”
~ David Vasquez,
adoptive parent
Parents ...
- Must be 21 or older;
- May be married, single, or divorced;
- May work outside the home; and
- Must be able to provide a safe, loving home.
Ways to be a foster parent
Foster parents offer children safety and stability until children can return to their families or go to permanent homes. Foster families offer different types of care:
- Regular Foster Home—Children stay for any length of time, often one to two years.
- Resource Home—These families are willing to both foster and adopt a child, depending on the child’s needs.
- Child-Specific—Children are placed with relatives or close friends who know the children’s background and circumstances.
- Mentor Home—These families give young adults aged 16 to 20 temporary housing and valuable guidance in choosing careers, extending education, and building practical skills.
- Fairfax Families4Kids—If you would like to spend time engaged in recreational, educational, and social activities with children who are currently in foster care in Fairfax County, become a volunteer or mentor with Fairfax Families4Kids.
"When I’m playing basketball and I can hear my mom in the crowd
... I feel happy because somebody is there for me when I’m at my
best."
~ Kahlil,
foster son
Parenting through adoption
Children need families to call their own. With permanent homes come lifelong support systems, love, and a brighter future. More than 70 percent of our adoptive families begin as foster parents, then commit to adopting the child in their care. Some children in Fairfax County are still awaiting adoptive homes. Many are school aged and part of sibling groups; quite a few are boys.
The Foster Care and Adoption Program:
- Works with birth parents who are placing children for adoption;
- Offers support, training, and home studies to prospective adoptive families;
- Matches children’s needs to the strengths of prospective adoptive parents;
- Provides post-adoption services and financial support to eligible adoptive families; and
- Makes special efforts to find adoptive families for children of African-American heritage through the Black Adoption Project.
"Kids come in here and at first they’re frightened, scared. But
you love them and you nurture them, and they leave a completely
different child."
~ Margaret Taylor,
foster parent
A child in your community needs you.
The children in our care are creative, intelligent, and engaging. All of them are looking for a place to call home.
Whether you’ve made the decision to open your home to a child, or simply want to learn more, take the first step: come to an orientation meeting. Join us at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month, at our offices:
Department of Family Services
Human Services Center—Pennino Building
12011 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, Virginia 22035
We’re always happy to answer your questions. If you’d like to speak with a member of our staff, or one of our current foster or adoptive parents, please call 703-324-7639 or visit our Web site: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs
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