703-324-7500
TTY 711
Oriane Eriksen,
Director
Today, nearly 200 Fairfax County children are in foster care. The Department of Family Services' Foster Care and Adoption Program offers temporary foster homes for these children, and services to help their families. When a child cannot return home safely, we seek to find relatives who want to care for the child, and are legally eligible to do so. If a relative is not identified, or is unable to care for the child, we seek a permanent home through adoption.
May is Foster Care Month
National Foster Care Month is an important time to raise awareness of issues related to foster care and to celebrate those, like our foster parents, who are dedicated to serving our children, youth, and families. This year, the Children’s Bureau collaborated with parents, guardians, and young people with lived experience to develop its focus for the month on mental well-being. As a result, this year's theme is "Strengthening Minds, Uplifting Families." We encourage everyone check out the mental health resources at National Foster Care Month - Child Welfare Information Gateway and visit our Community engagement toolkit if you are looking for facts and messages to raise awareness in our community.
Foster care refers to finding a temporary home for a child outside the home where he or she had been raised. This may occur as a result of abuse, neglect or other circumstances that put the child at risk. During this time, family problems are addressed so that the child can return home safely, or plans are made to find a safe and nurturing home for the child outside his or her birth family.
Foster parents offer children safety and stability until they can return to their families or go to permanent homes. Foster families offer different types of care:
Adoption provides a permanent home when a child cannot return to the parents or relatives.
They are children in Fairfax County who:
People who:
Thank you for your interest in becoming a foster parent and helping children in need. The next step is to create an account with the Faster Families Highway.
You will be prompted to complete a simple 6-step process to determine your fit with our agency goals and your readiness to become a foster parent.
Completing your profile puts you on track to hear from one of our specialists within two business days.
Do you have a general question about Foster Care and Adoption? Send an email or call 703-324-7639 or TTY 703-222-9452. Responses are provided within two business days.
Patricia Aviles-Cubillos discusses foster parent recruitment with host Heber Velasquez on “La Voz del Condado de Fairfax,” the County’s Spanish-language radio program on WUST-1120 AM.
Our foster parents receive:
More than 70 percent of our adoptive families begin as foster parents, and then commit to adopting the child in their care. Many are school aged and part of sibling groups. Learn more from this Inside Scoop Virginia video.
"Finding my forever family has made such a big impact in my life! We enjoy being together, supporting each other, and making lots of new memories. I strongly encourage anyone considering fostering or adopting to do it - you can make all the difference in the life of a kid like me."
Mikalah
"As a first-time single parent, I was nervous about raising a teenager, but everything fell into place the minute I met her, and it's been an exceptional experience ever since!"
Lesley
"I have learned that adoption is not for the faint of heart. Some days I am aggravated. Some days I am exasperated. Some days I am heartbroken. Some days I ask, 'what have I gotten myself into?' But every day I know that this is among the greatest things I have ever done. In some situations you are literally saving a child's life. But in every situation you are offering a child the opportunity to see all the possibilities this world has to offer."
Leslie
The Unexpected Rewards of Foster Parenting is an interview with foster parents from Fairfax County who share their journey - what interest them initially; what steps they took to become foster parents; how long they served as foster parents; the relationship they built; challenges; rewards; advice based on their experience and more.
Meet some of the families who know this experience firsthand. Check out the videos of their personal stories to learn more about their journey.
Check out our data dashboard to help you better understand the scope of Foster Care and Adoption in Fairfax County.
Adoption Snapshots Tell a Story – Meet the White Family
Adoption Snapshots catches a glimpse of families brought together through adoption. Parents share in their own words what it was like to meet and then build a bond with the children they have welcomed into their hearts and homes. We're grateful for these parents who were courageous enough to partner with our agency to provide permanent homes to children in need. Check back for new adoption snapshots posted throughout the year.
Don't miss out on this monthly newsletter for current and potential Fairfax County foster parents. Each issue has information to help keep foster parents informed about new and notable happenings in Fairfax County - messages from staff, program plans, trends, trainings and policy changes, and more.
If you have an interest in helping children and families to thrive, come work with our Children, Youth and Families Division. Check out some of our open positions.
