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 family; 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, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the previously existing strains on the foster care system; and,

WHEREAS, the launch of the Safe and Sound Task Force seeks to end the practice of hundreds of children sleeping in local Departments of Social Services offices, hotels or emergency rooms unnecessarily and make systematic improvements to Virginia’s foster care system; and,

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

WHEREAS, restoring and supporting birth families with tangible and emotional support are proven ways to preserve families and prevent children from coming into foster care; 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, kinship, foster and adoptive families need continuing support once a child has been placed in their care; and Virginia needs more kinship, foster, and adoptive families who will accept children who have higher levels of needs or are part of a sibling group; 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, the challenges facing Virginia’s foster care system cannot be solved through a government approach alone; and,

WHEREAS, through 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 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 2022 as FOSTER CARE MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of our citizens.