Helping a foster or adopted child truly feel like a welcome part of the family is very
important. Celebrating all that’s special about your child - including his or her characteristics and special abilities - is a powerful way to say, ‘We love you; we’re glad you’re here.’
Nearly 600,000 children are in foster care in the U.S. and Canada.
150,000 of these children are available for adoption and wait for permanent families in North America.
53 percent of foster children in the New River Valley are 13 years of age or older.
There are about 175 children in foster care throughout the NRV and only 30 foster families who work with the Department of Social Services (DSS). When DSS foster families are not available, many children are placed away from their families and outside their neighborhoods, school system, and communities.
There are only 2 trained families that work with the Department of Social Services in the New River Valley that are willing to take teenagers.
A child can wait for an adoptive family 5 years or more.
20 percent of the children in foster care available for adoption will turn 18 and leave the system without a strong relationship with a family.
