Virginia Foster Care Statistics - VA Foster Data

Statistics on Foster Care in Virginia

In the past ten years, Virginia Foster care stats show the number of children entering the foster care system has never grown at such a steep rate as it is now; we hope this will help you understand foster care in Virginia in the United States.

With 20,000 young people leaving foster care every year without permanency in America, the foster care system needs a substantial review by all the invested stakeholders. Finding foster and adoptive parents before a child ages out of foster care is significant to helping them graduate from high school and their long-term mental health and stability for foster care youth.

In our community and the foster care programs that support them, the percentage of youth in Foster care who are not succeeding after they age out of foster care is staggering and upsetting. We need to find more solutions. Suppose we wish to give children an in-home care life and not a group home experience. In that case, we need to look at the services foster parents receive to provide a positive statistical impact to give a child a greater hope of independent living.

It is essential to understand that every vital statistic on FosterVA is a foster child whose average age is eight years old. A family willing to help foster youth find a permanent home or reunite with their family is the first step in changing kids in foster care life. With the trend in 2021 of more need for great foster parents and knowing the impact you can make on a child's life.

We help these youth because they need to be supported. We brought these children into the foster care system to protect them from abuse and neglect. We need to ensure they are more successful in our care than in their biological family, feeling safe and looked after and transitioning to adulthood in a manner of success and maybe a college degree which only stands at 3% this year for a child in the Foster care system a majority of children will not achieve a degree.

The local Department of Social Services (DSS) system is trying to improve foster children's daily lives. Foster Kids are the most vulnerable children you will ever meet, and we must understand how these numbers impact their lives.

Even with child welfare's efforts to prevent the removal of children from their parents, the number of children in foster care is steadily increasing. At this juncture, we are at an all-time high as the demand for foster parents is far greater than the continued growth of the foster children in care. Factors such as parental opioid addiction force more children to be removed from their homes. Every day, a displaced child feels lonely and scared as they are moved from home.

FosterVA's mission is to take action to provide stability for our kids in care. There are so many children in Virginia where a child requires a safe place to call home, for now, or a forever home.

We are here to educate you about this need for foster families and encourage you to become a foster family before these youth ages out of foster care and leave the protection of the Virginia Department of Social Services and the support groups they may have connected with while they are in their foster care placements.

You have the choice to can make this happen and give a child in need an opportunity to be a fantastic success. 

Children who are in Foster care spend a long time in the the DSS system

  • 5062

    Number of children in foster care in Virginia May 2023 (Source)

  • 1580

    Number of Children waiting to be adopted in Virginia in May 2023(Source)

  • 14%

    Of Virginia Children will spend 3-4 years in foster care 2021 (Source)

  • 20

    The number of months that foster children in Virginia, on average, spend in Foster care. April 2023 (Source)

Reasons why children are taken into the Department of Social Services (DSS) custody

  • Physical

    Physical abuse refers to intentional physical harm to another person. It does not refer to punishments such as spanking if it is reasonable. Still, if it causes bodily injury to the child, it is abuse.

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  • Emotional

    Emotional abuse includes constant criticism, threats, rejection, and withholding of love or guidance. However, each act prevents children from learning proper emotional regulation and lowers their sense of self-worth. The child is often told that their abuse happens because of a failure on the child's part, such as bad grades.

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  • Sexual

    Unfortunately, those in or who have been in foster care are at a much higher risk of becoming victims of human trafficking. Foster parents should be aware of the signs of human trafficking. It allows them to educate and prevent the children in their care from becoming victims.

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  • Neglect

    Child neglect is a form of abuse that can cause physical and psychological issues in children. A caretaker fails to provide for a child's basic needs physically, emotionally, medically, or even educationally.

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Learn more about why a foster child needs your support in Virginia

You can make a difference in a foster child's life