Become a foster parent in Suffolk, VA
In Suffolk , every child deserves someone who believes in them.
Explore how your kindness, care, and community spirit can help a child feel safe, valued, and at home.
About Suffolk
Suffolk, Virginia, the largest city by land area in the state, is home to around 96,000 residents. Located in the heart of Hampton Roads, Suffolk is a beautiful blend of rural charm and urban amenities. Known for picturesque landscapes, including the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the city offers many outdoor adventures and scenic beauty. Its historic downtown boasts local boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants, while community events like the Suffolk Peanut Festival celebrate the area’s rich agricultural heritage.
For foster families, Suffolk provides a supportive and welcoming community. The city's Department of Social Services works alongside regional organizations, to ensure foster parents have access to essential resources, including training, financial assistance, and counseling. Programs are designed to help foster children feel safe and supported, with a focus on creating stable homes and nurturing relationships. Organizations like FosterVA and CASA of Southeastern Virginia further enhance the network of care, providing advocacy and mentorship for foster families. Considering becoming a foster parent in Suffolk!
Suffolk’s family-oriented atmosphere makes it a great place for children and caregivers. The city is home to numerous parks and recreation centers, such as Bennett's Creek Park, which offers playgrounds, picnic areas, and trails. Educational and interactive experiences, like those at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, give opportunities to foster families to bond and learn together. Seasonal events and festivals add to community life, creating moments of joy and connection for families of all kinds.
What makes Suffolk stand out is its strong sense of community and its commitment to the wellbeing of its residents. Foster families benefit from a combination of natural beauty, cultural activities, and comprehensive support systems, making Suffolk an ideal environment for fostering positive growth and lasting relationships. Start your journey to becoming a foster parent today!
Why Choose FosterVA
FosterVA is a campaign started by Extra Special Parents (a licensed child placing agency) to raise awareness of Virginia’s need for great foster families, especially in Suffolk . Great foster parents make a difference in a youth’s ability to develop resiliency, which allows them to survive and thrive with the right support.
We have a support group that meets monthly for all foster families and respite care for yourself. Our support includes Individual clinical case managers and a crisis line manned 24/7/365. These tried and tested systems are put in place to ensure you and the child are supported during this journey as a foster parent.
Can I foster a child in Suffolk ?
Find out if you qualify to become a foster parent! Becoming a foster parent is a challenging and enriching experience for you and all family members. You can make a huge difference and change a child's life for the better, especially for sibling groups and older children in foster care programs. If you care about children and want to help them, fostering a child is an extraordinary calling.
Children in the foster care system have been through traumatic experiences. They need a loving home to help them recover and thrive. Providing a home for a child can be heartwarming and beautiful when you start to see them succeed in your care. If you have the heart and a home for a child in Suffolk , VA please contact us to learn more about our process.
Our parents come from all works of life, and your work and life experience will enhance what you bring to being a foster parent. So please never think that your life experience is unsuitable for a child in foster care, with nearly 5000 kids in the Virginia Department of social services care. We will find a child that will be great for you or your family.
Start the process today to become a Foster Parent
Family Friendly Events and Places of Interest
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is the largest intact remnant of a vast habitat that once covered more than one million acres of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The refuge currently encompasses over 112,000 acres of this environmentally and biologically important area. Special designations for the refuge include both the Virginia and Globally Important Bird Area designations, and the National Parks Services National Natural Landmark and Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site designations.
Kay’s Acres
Ride includes an arena orientation explaining how to safely and comfortably enjoy your horseback riding experience. From the arena we transition to our pastures, and finally a cool wooded trail.
Planters Peanut Center
The Planters Peanut Center has been in business since 1967 and is located in Suffolk, Virginia - "The Peanut Capital of the World". Browse our website and become acquainted with our peanut products. You will find that we make your shopping convenient and affordable. We ship worldwide and your orders can be taken care over the phone, through the Internet, or in person. Please feel free to contact us if we can be of help to you.
Riddick's Folly
Riddick’s Folly has four floors, twenty-one rooms, and sixteen fireplaces. All four floors are open to the public. The building features elegantly furnished double parlors, a gentlemen’s library, and adult and children’s bedchambers, as well as a bathing and dressing room on the third floor, slave quarters on the fourth floor and the winter kitchen which is housed in the English basement along with the laundry and dining rooms. We also have a tastefully stocked Gift Shop in the English basement which was once the larder or pantry. Upcoming projects include restoring portions of the carriage house and outside fencing.
Riddick's Folly House Museum
While Mills Riddick’s contemporaries may have mocked his Greek Revival home when it was built in 1837, the house now stands as a beautiful reminder of the past. This most impressive structure on Main Street in Suffolk features striking architectural details. The five frieze band windows across the front of the house are rarely seen in eastern Virginia. The front of the mansion is bricked in Flemish bond, and double chimneys rise from both ends of the stately historic landmark. Slender columns of the Greek Revival period frame the main entrance. The interior showcases intricately carved and gilded moldings and elaborate ceiling medallions throughout the main floor of the house. Riddick’s Folly has four floors, twenty-one rooms, and sixteen fireplaces. All four floors are open to the public. The building features elegantly furnished double parlors, a gentlemen’s library, and adult and children’s bedchambers. Our three newest projects are the bathing and dressing room on the third floor, the slave quarters on the fourth floor and their winter kitchen which is housed in the English basement along with the laundry and dining rooms. We also have a tastefully stocked Gift Shop in the English basement which was once the larder or pantry. Riddick’s Folly is a member of: American Association of Museums American Association for State and Local History Virginia Association of Museums South Hampton Roads Museum Forum Time Travelers Southside of the James Attractions Riddick’s Folly is also registered with : National Register for Historic Places Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Virginia Civil War Trails
Sleepy Hole Park
A small multi-use park nestled between a rural subdivision and a local golf course. The park is primarily managed for public recreation.
Southern Gun Works
Selling new, used, antique, collectable and C & R firearms, military collectibles, limited edition aviation, civil war and military art and autographs.
Suffolk Farmers' Market
Bures Farmers Market near Sudbury is held once a month on the village green and is well worth a visit. There's real variety of stalls set up by locals who are proud to present their fresh produce & crafts for sale.
Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum
Our museum contains a collection of items from the Seaboard Airline Railroad, the Virginian Railway, the Norfolk and Western Railroad, and the Atlantic and Danville Railroad. Items include bells from steam locomotives, a light from a steam locomotive tender, cast iron and concrete signs, railroad lanterns, railroad tools, as well as a nice collection of smaller items. The Station is a Queen Anne style building reminiscent of the Victorian age. It has an interesting tower with a beautiful, walnut, spiral staircase. Many original features were saved and restored such as the doors, windows, coffered ceiling, fireplace and porch. The most special part of the building is the HO scale model of Suffolk, circa 1907, that was built by the Tidewater Division of the National Model Railroad Association. Two of the scratch built model buildings won first place in the National Competition for that group. There is more than a mile of electrical wiring underneath the model and the line depicted is the Suffolk and Carolina RR.
Suffolk Visitor Center
Very cool displays and tons of information on the local and surrounding areas. Nice nature displays with wildlife replicas and cool gift shop as well.
