Kinship Awareness Month

Begin Your Journey

The mission of the JFS Connecting Hearts is to find kinship, adoptive, and foster families for every child in Virginia's foster system through collaboration with youth, families, and agencies.

September is recognized as National Kinship Care Month, a time to acknowledge and support families who have stepped in to care for their relatives' children. This year's theme of - "Engaging Youth. Building Supports. Strengthening Opportunities." - shines a light on how we can best support young people and help them successfully transition into adulthood.

We aim to place children and youth aging out of foster care with a Kinship family member. This partnership's primary goal is to work collaboratively with the Commonwealth to place youth residing in congregate care with relatives or fictive kin to support timely reunification and permanency. The initiative also attempts to place older youth living in non-relative home-based care for 12 months or longer with relatives of effective foster care before aging out of the foster care system.

"What I'd like people to know about me is I'm a cool kid...my friends describe me as goofy...what family meant to me is people that actually care, people that love you, and would do anything for you." - Khyleif

Below you will find our own webinars on a variety of topics, archives of our newsletters, as well as links to outside resources!

Resources

Learning is a life-long enterprise, and it’s even more true as you begin your foster, adoption, or kinship journey! The children coming into your life have faced incredible challenges that impact their emotional, physical, and social development. We want to be certain you have access to the essential parenting tools you need to foster their positive growth.

Below you will find our own webinars on a variety of topics, archives of our newsletters, as well as links to outside resources!

Support Groups

We believe that support for the foster, adoptive, and kinship journey is important for a rewarding and successful experience. But, one size does not fit all when it comes to emotional support. JFS Connecting Hearts’ Family Alliance is committed to offering the support you need, whether joining a group works best for you or you prefer help on an as-needed basis. We are here for you at every step of your foster, adoptive, or kinship journey.

If you want support on your schedule, click here to join our Family Alliance support group on Facebook! The Facebook support group is also a place for you to post issues, questions, concerns, and celebrations to share with other parents. You can tune in for support anytime, day or night, and the JFS Connecting Hearts team and other Family Alliance members will be there.

Check out our blog post about some of the benefits of joining a support group. We will also share information on our calendar from support groups across the state. If you need help finding a support group in your area, contact Lori at ljacocks@jfsrichmond.org.

Laws and Policies

One of the important services we can provide to support you and your family is to keep you informed about state and federal legislation, laws, regulations, and policies that impact you. In this section, you can learn more about the legislative processes and how to raise your voice in support of children and families. Our monthly Family Alliance newsletter also features news about laws related to foster care, kinship care, and adoption – you can find the newsletter archive in the Educational Resources section above.

denise

Contact: Denise Wise-David

If you are interested in becoming a foster or foster-to-adopt parent, would like to get involved in our organization, or want to share your foster care or adoption story, please do not hesitate to contact us!

dwise-david@jfsrichmond.org / 804-282-5644 ext. 280 / Facebook / Instagram

You can also fill out a contact form by clicking here.