ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — There are more than 5,000 children in foster care in Virginia, so this Valentine’s Day may be a good time to think about opening your heart and your home to a child in need.
Recruitment Specialist Adasha Holdren and Parent Advocate Ashlin Bayne from Extra Special Parent joined WFXR’s Amanda Kenney on WFXR News at Noon to talk about the state of foster care in Virginia.
Holdren says of the 5,111 foster children in Virginia, 29% are in the Piedmont Region (which includes Southwest Virginia). In Roanoke City and County combined, there are 400 children in foster care. Holdren says 31% of foster kids are ages 13-17 and 32% in foster care have the goal of getting adopted.
Extra Special Parent is a therapeutic foster care agency that works with local departments of social services all over the state. The agency also provides case managment services for foster parents and are available to help on an on-call basis.
You can go to FosterVA.org learn more or call 1-866-782-9474.
You can also reach Adasha at Aholdren@espva.org or Ashlin at Abayne@espva.org.
