DePaul Community Resources is helping Rockbridge County address a foster care crisis.
The Rockbridge Area Department of Social Services currently has 50 children in foster care, and not nearly enough local foster parents with whom they can place the children. Due to the lack of foster parents, children are being placed across the state in foster homes and group homes, hours away from their communities. This makes reunification with the child’s birth family, or placing the child with a relative, extremely difficult.
Sadly, there has been a rapid increase in children and teens entering the foster care system in Virginia, primarily because of the opioid epidemic, and this is especially true in Rockbridge County. Rockbridge has seen an increase in substance-exposed infants coming into foster care, as well as youth who have begun abusing substances after experiencing their parents and/or caregivers abuse substances.
Now DePaul is stepping in to help recruit, train, and support foster families in the Rockbridge County area. DePaul has several families in Rockbridge County that currently provide foster care services to local children, helping keep them connected to their community, school, and friends. DePaul’s goal is to work tirelessly to increase the number of approved foster families in Rockbridge County so that the children in foster care will not be placed hours away.
“While there are currently 50 children in foster care in Rockbridge County, we expect that number to continue to move upwards, and we must find safe, loving homes in this area that are willing to welcome a child into their home,” said Emily Moore, regional recruiter for DePaul.
To learn more about DePaul Community Resources or becoming a foster parent, click here.
One of our foster families spoke about their experience in a recent news story. Click here to watch.