WHEREAS, Virginia’s children and youth are our hope for the future, and we affirm 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 foundations of our communities and our Commonwealth; and

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

WHEREAS, while Virginia has more than 4,900 children and youth age 17 and younger in foster care, at least 3,900 are supported by a network of more than 4,900 active kinship and non-relative foster and adoptive families, including over 1,000 children and youth currently placed with kinship foster parents as the Commonwealth supports caregivers in becoming approved foster families to care for their relatives; and

WHEREAS, kinship and non-relative foster families play a vital role in serving as a support system for the parents of children in foster care, assisting with making family reunification possible; and

WHEREAS, many kinship and non-relative foster families create permanency for children in foster care through adoption when children cannot be safely reunified with their parents; and

WHEREAS, partnerships among kinship and non-relative foster and adoptive families; child welfare staff; and public and private child-serving organizations, help ensure that the voices of children in foster care are heard and that support is provided to youth and young adults as they transition toward successful 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 they provide to Virginia’s children and youth while recognizing that foster care supports entire families; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Governor Abigail D. Spanberger, Governor, do hereby recognize May 2026 as FOSTER CARE AWARENESS MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.