Are Foster Parents Really Needed?

Project Belong works to support foster, adoptive, and kinship families, social workers, and aged-out foster youth.While Project Belong Virginia does not train foster parents or place foster children, we work closely with those who do.  Because of that work, we see the critical need for parents who step into hard things with children from hard places to care for them when they need it the most. 

To illustrate the answer is YES! Foster Parents ARE INDEED needed now, more than ever. 

First, check out the: Number of children currently in foster care in Virginia.

Second, we asked Amanda Miller, Culpeper Area Director and Foster Parent about the need for foster parents - and her heart as a foster parent.

As a foster parent, I believe I am answering a high and noble calling to care not only for my family but also for my neighbor’s family.  The privilege of providing safety and belonging for children while holding on to empathy and compassion for their families both grows and challenges my capacity for patience, flexibility, and forgiveness.  It also offers my children opportunities to grow emotionally, expanding their gratitude and developing resiliency.  Investing in and caring for my neighbors, then, is not only an act of love and service to them but also a way to nurture the growth and enrichment of my own family, too.    

When families open their hearts and homes, they’re not just providing love and hope to children who need care— they’re strengthening the whole community.  Communities thrive when everyone in them has a safe and supportive place to grow.  It is incredibly rewarding to witness the profound transformation in families who have faced adversity yet emerge from the child welfare system, not only healed but also strengthened and united as a family. 

Becoming a foster parent will change your daily life and help you grow in curious and often complex ways.  It will ask you to live in the messy, unpredictable parts of life, where there aren't always satisfying solutions or answers.  Your training will equip you with valuable skills and knowledge, yet in some circumstances, you will only feel slightly more capable than before.  You’ll lose a little sleep and spend more time on your knees in prayer because becoming a foster parent is choosing daily to welcome the brokenness of the world into your home with open arms. It’s a commitment to walk with families through the valleys, stand in the gaps, and build bridges even when circumstances are difficult. 

There is a deep fulfillment in the strong bonds that form, giving children reassurance that they are seen, known, and loved by a community of people.  There is a delight in celebrating every small victory and new skill learned.  There is hope in every glimpse of redemption. 

Last of all, there is encouragement for every family who steps out in faith and leans into caring for vulnerable children.  So, go where you’re being called, and trust that you, too, will find the support you need from your community! 

Third, we asked Madelyn Carmichael, Project Belong’s Alexandria and Arlington County Director - and past social worker, “What are the challenges of not having enough trained foster parents for DSS?”

When there are not enough certified foster parents available for the children entering foster care, children and youth end up in more restrictive care situations and not-family like than they may need. Unfortunately, these environments of group homes or residential care can also expose children/youth to more traumatic experiences when surrounded by many traumatized peers. 

As a social worker, I also experienced the lack of foster parents through seeing children in care placed further and further away from their home of origin. This could be anywhere from 30 minutes, 2 hours, to even out of state placements for children in care. This results in a lot of negative consequences such as long commute times for social workers, long commutes for children visiting with biological family, loss of connection with supportive communities, and more. When workers are doing home visits that are over 2 hours away from their base office, this takes away from time needed actually interfacing with clients, helping them access resources, and even time to effectively document work and write reports for court. When children are placed far from their biological family, they end up spending up to 4 hours in a car in one day on a weekly basis to maintain contact and connection.  Finally, when children are moved far away from their place of origin, this also means their opportunity to maintain some type of continuity in their life is strained or completely taken away as they may be too far to continue at their base school or again spending multiple hours a day in the car riding back and forth from their base school (which is also an increased cost to pay for transportation services).

Clearly, a lack of foster parents adds a lot of strain to the system and increases all the negative outcomes we read and hear about.

It is important to have foster parents trained and ready to go. We are grateful to have such experienced staff at Project Belong who have been trained, or have trained foster parents and know the importance of people being interested and willing to stand in as foster parents.  

If you are interested in becoming a foster parent in the state of Virginia, you can show your interest through the faster highways system. You can also reach out to Project Belong to be connected to a County Director in your area by emailing info@projectbeongva.org.