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.
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 participate in one of our monthly information meetings.
Do you have a specific question about a monthly information meeting or have a follow-up question after attending a monthly information meeting? Contact Dr. Patricia Aviles-Cubillos by email or call 703-324-7919 (responses are provided within one business day).
Do you have a general question about Foster Care and Adoption? Call 703-324-7639 or TTY 703-222-9452.
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.
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.
The Healthy Minds Foster Futures Virtual 5K Walk took place on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 9 a.m. Staff and Youth Advocates with our Foster Care and Adoption program would like to thank everyone who was able join!
We hope that you will continue the effort to reduce the stigma of mental health. Check out our online resources to learn more about what can be done to support the estimated 80% of children in foster care who are impacted by mental health.
Meet the Dredges
Recognized as the 2020 Foster Parents of the Year for Fairfax County by Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), Danielle and Jesse Dredge have provided Fairfax foster children with stability, structure, nurturing, and connection. The Dredge family has fostered a sibling set of brothers, a teen mother and her child, and a teen male. With each placement they have been influential in how they manage the children’s adjustment to their placement, provide interventions and strategies when children have noted struggles, set clear boundaries, and worked with the child and biological family toward reunification. Get to know them and why they want to make a difference in the lives of children through foster care. Learn more about their story.
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.
