Virginia children closer to finding forever homes after 30 Days of Hope

Dozens of people called to get more info about fostering to adopt

ROANOKE – Thousands of you helped spread the message of the Virginia children who need forever families, many of them right here in southwest Virginia.

You shared the stories of children waiting to be adopted out of foster care on social media and clicked on their links right here on our website.

Over 30 days, we've shown you more than 30 children who can be adopted out of foster care. We've also told you about the need.

Roanoke has the second highest number of kids in foster care across Virginia, more than 200--- with many having suffered neglect.

We've highlighted the resources available --- like free services even after the adoption is finalized.

"10 News is helping children find forever families," said Cindy Davis, the DePaul Community Resources Foster/Adoptive Family Recruitment Specialist.

She says more than 40 families from all over southwest Virginia called DePaul Community Resources, asking for more information about foster care and fostering to adopt.

"I've had families that have called who have been single moms, single dads, the LGBT community, empty-nesters which is a really big thing. They are just now going into that empty-nester and realizing, 'Hey this is something I might be able to do now' and offer that for another child," said Davis.

The next step is families training through their local Department of Social Services, a home study and then working on a match with a child.

"I don't know if I can even explain it. It has just been so fantastic. It's been very encouraging for me to see that families understand the needs of these kids, particularly the ones on 30 Days of Hope because they are some older kids. Having families understand that these kids also need homes just like some of the younger kids that we see get adopted a lot," said Davis.

We've shown you the faces of dozens of children, but there are hundreds more who are also looking for a family. You can find them here. https://www.adoptuskids.org/states/va/index.aspx

If you would like to learn more about foster care/adoption, contact Cindy Davis at DePaul Community Resources at cdavis@depaulcr.org or 540.381.1848 x 4009 or online at www.depaulcr.org

There are more than 600 children who are ready for foster to adoption in Virginia. They are ready to find a permanent and loving forever family. 10 News is profiling one child who needs a home every day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. in 30 Days of Hope. The children are all ages and races and were put into foster care due to no fault of their own.

 


About the Author:

You can see Jenna weekday mornings at the anchor desk on WSLS 10 Today from 5-7 a.m. She also leads our monthly Solutionaries Series, where we highlight the creative thinkers and doers working to make the world a better place.