WHEREAS, Virginia’s children and youth are our hope for the future, and we assert that all children deserve a safe, loving, stable, and nurturing home; and

WHEREAS, families, serving as the primary providers of love, identity, self-esteem, and support, are the very foundations of our communities and our Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, a child’s success is best supported in a child welfare system that is family-focused, child-centered, and community-based; and preserving families is the primary goal of the child welfare system; and

WHEREAS, while Virginia has over 4,300 children and youth aged 18 and younger in foster care, there are at least 3,600 children and youth supported by a network of more than 5,000 dedicated, approved kinship, foster and adoptive families; and

WHEREAS, kinship families and foster families play a critical role in serving as a support, not a substitute for the parents of children in foster care to make family reunification possible; and

WHEREAS, many kinship families and foster families create permanency for children in foster care through adoption when those children cannot be safely reunified with their birth families; and

WHEREAS, through the partnerships among kinship, foster and adoptive families; child welfare staff; and public and private child-serving organizations, efforts are made to ensure that voices are heard and support offered for youth at every step of their foster care journey, including helping young adults successfully transition to independence; and

WHEREAS, we honor and celebrate the enduring contributions of kinship, foster and adoptive families during National Foster Care Awareness Month and recognize the outstanding service and commitment kinship, foster and adoptive families provide to Virginia’s children and youth, while recognizing that foster care supports entire families;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize May 2023, as FOSTER CARE AWARENESS MONTH in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of our citizens.