MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – There are more than 750 children who are ready for adoption in Virginia. They are ready to find a permanent and loving forever family. 10 News is sharing the stories of one child who needs a home every day in November in 30 Days of Hope. The children are of all ages and races and were put into foster care due to no fault of their own. 2023 marks the seventh year 10 News is doing this series.
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Keeping social workers is a challenge across Virginia. There’s a lot of turnover at many department of social services offices.
Department of Social Service workers in Montgomery County are helping out another county that doesn’t have enough employees.
We talked to Katrina Williams about what that means for them.
The family service specialist said they’re making sure monthly visits are being made to check in with foster families and make sure the kids are doing okay.
“It is a little added stress because there’s additional travel, which is additional time that takes away from us being able to be here. However, I think that we’re all in this for the same thing, right? We’re all in this to make sure that the kids in not only our community but the communities in our state are taken care of. I think that it’s been rewarding to be able to help the agency,” said Williams.
They asked us not to name the county but we can tell you it’s not a direct neighbor who has double the number of kids in foster care as Montgomery County.
Montgomery County said it’s often asked to help with various things when there’s a need and they jump in when they can.
There are about 5,000 children in Virginia’s foster care program and more than 750 of those children can be adopted. If you have questions about foster care/adoption, contact the VDSS Division of Family Services Adoption Recruitment Coordinator, at adoptioninquiries@dss.virginia.gov.
To see other 30 Days of Hope stories visit us here.
We also have a list of frequently asked questions about foster care and adoption including the qualifications, cost, and training required in this link.