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Family Services / Real Stories of Adoption and Foster Care
Family, belonging, acceptance, love -- the stories below come from foster families across the state of Virginia. These Virginians share the true stories of how families were started, reunited and strengthened through foster care and adoption.
To learn more about becoming a foster parent, visit FosterVA.com or call 1-888-2Foster.
My husband and I both felt called to foster care at the same time. From what we hear, this is unusual. In married couples, one spouse is usually pulling the other to pursue foster care...
I met 7-year-old Brooklynn in 2015 when I was a family services specialist working on her case. At the time, I did not know that Brooklynn would play a significant role in my life...
Infertility brought us to adoption, and adoption brought us to fostering. An open, healthy relationship with our adopted son's first family introduced us to the world of foster care...
The most rewarding aspect of fostering has been watching trust be built, slowly, and to see potential realized for the kids in our care...
There is nothing more beautiful than showing love to a foster child's biological family during their time of crisis. The most rewarding part of fostering for us is to see children successfully reunite with their families...
We've been foster parents since 2018. During that time, we've had multiple children in our home, including a three-year-old we've adopted, and a 17-year-old whom we are in the process of adopting...
I have always wanted to foster, but my husband served 32 years of active duty with the Navy and with work travel the timing never felt right. After he retired we finally felt we were ready...
I became a foster parent because I wanted to become a parent through adoption, however I continued to foster because I knew my home could serve as a temporary refuge for children in need of a safe space...
We have always been known to have "extra" children. Our family of eight, which includes four biological children, one adopted child, and one child in foster care...
We are a family of four that chose to pursue fostering and take on some uncomfortability in an effort to live a more purpose-driven life and help our community...
When I was 12 years old, my older sister and I entered into the foster care system. My mother had fallen on hard times and was no longer able to provide for the both of us. Even though I was only twelve...
On March 15, 2018, I entered the foster care system. I was sixteen and seeking legal emancipation. The judge ruled in favor of foster care, where I remained for six months. That may not seem long in the world of foster care...
For nearly seven years, Joel and I have been foster parents. Fostering was a calling in our lives. It was our way to help children and families in need in our community. To us, foster parents are meant to be safe havens for children...
We started our foster care journey in 2008. Our biological children were in high school and we really wanted a little one in the house with us, but our local department of social services needed foster families for teenagers...
I will never forget walking out of the hospital four years ago, holding an infant carrier with a premature baby girl fast asleep in it - our very first foster care placement. The feelings of fear, anticipation, and gratefulness...
We first began our foster care journey out of an abundant love for children and a longing to help our community. Being able to actually reach the children that come into our home, no matter what condition they enter in...
From the beginning, our caseworker and foster family were supportive of the reunification process. Both were very involved, caring, and attentive to our needs as we worked to reunite our family. Our caseworker...
I was a teenager when my struggle with addiction began. It may have been due to an unaddressed trauma and only having negative coping mechanisms, however my drug addiction led to abusing meth...
In August of 2017, after being homeless for three months, my children were placed into kinship care with their aunt. At times, I was not able to see my kids as I worked through the reunification process and received assistance...
Two years ago, I made the decision to get involved with drugs. I didn't care about anything else in the world except for my addiction. In June of 2019, I was arrested on multiple warrants and a drug charge possession...
Bridget Sandstrom shares her video testimony of her road to recovery and reunification with her son thanks to help from the department of social services...
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