November is National Adoption Month. This year’s theme, “Teens Need Families, No Matter What,” centers on building an effective response system that will support efforts to achieve lasting permanency for teenagers in foster care.

According to the most recent AFCARS report, of the 111,820 children and youth waiting to be adopted:

53 percent are male
47 percent are female
23 percent are African American
22 percent are Hispanic
43 percent are white
The average age is 8 years old
11 percent are between 15 and 17 years old
Average time in foster care is 32 months

Do you have room in your heart and family for a child?  If so, here are links to many of the adoption and foster care groups in our community:

National Adoption Center:  800.862.3678 www.adopt.org

Children’s Home Society of Virginia (804) 353-0191

JFS Richmond

United Methodist Family Services of Virginia  804.353.4461

Richmond VA Social Services Adoption For information on adoption services, please call (804) 646-7475

Lutheran Family Services of Virginia offers a variety of services to families interested in pursuing adoption. LFSVA is a state-licensed adoption agency and has offered adoption services since 1991. LFSV is committed to helping the approximately 900 children in foster care in Virginia find homes- one family at a time.  For more information call 1-800-359-3834.

coordinators2inc – The Lifetime Adoption Resource is the Central VA site for the VA Adoptive Family Preservation program. We are able to offer supportive services to anyone touched by adoption. For more information about support groups, counseling, case management, educational programs, family activities and consultations please contact us at www.c2adopt.org or call us at 804.354.1881.

Bethany Christian Services of Virginia, LLC – As the largest adoption agency in the nation, Bethany envisions a world where every child has a loving family.  Accredited by the Council on Accreditation and the Hague Convention, Bethany takes pride in our trained professionals who ensure families are more prepared  and supported during the lifelong journey of adoption (both domestic and international). Get a free information packet: or attend a local information meeting by RSVPing today bcsrichmond@bethany.org or 804.360.0466.

Virginia Department of Social Services   800-Do-Adopt

Children’s Home Society 804.353.0191

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption  800.275.3832

Extra Special Parents is a premier treatment foster care agency that utilizes a child-centered, family-focused approach to care for the needs of children and families.  Families interested in learning more about foster care can contact us at 877-313-7782 or email info@espva.org.

Commonwealth Catholic Charities’ Foster Care – Children come into foster care for a number of different reasons. Often they have experienced abuse and neglect. Sometimes a child has needs that his or her family cannot meet. Become a foster parent and make a difference in a child’s life.  To learn more about our domestic treatment foster care and our international foster care programs, please call 804.545.5956 or email caroline.ingram@cccofva.org

Finding Homes & Hope for Children is a local agency in downtown Richmond who serves to strengthen families by providing quality therapeutic foster care services to at-risk youth in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  They provide treatment and non-treatment foster care to children 0-18 years old. They are looking for loving families to provide environmental stability, support, and positive guidance to children. Contact us for more details on training opportunities, children we serve, the demand for foster homes, and the reward for the families @info.fhhfoc@gmail.com -or- (804) 649-3703

HopeTree Family Services offers a wide range of services for at-risk children and youth and their families across Virginia, including treatment foster care, residential care programs, and HopeTree Academy.  For more information about becoming a foster parent please visit our website at www.HopeTreeFosterCare.org.