You can change one child's life today. Let's do this!
AdoptionVA is a campaign started by Extra Special Parents (ESP), a licensed child-placing agency in Virginia. We aim to raise awareness of Virginia’s need for amazing families who will foster or adopt a child. We also train and support treatment foster care parents and children in foster care.
Caring people can help a foster child in various ways. However, when you become a foster parent to adopt a child, you make the ultimate difference for a foster youth. Every child can flourish, grow, and succeed in life when they belong in a loving home with forever family members.
With nurturing care, every child in a foster home environment can develop resiliency. Youth in the foster care program need the skills and support every growing person needs to survive and thrive. Virginia requires all foster and adoptive parents to become approved, licensed foster parents. Families seeking to adopt a child provide foster care for their child for six months as part of the adoption process.
ESP takes seriously the role of certifying foster and adoptive parents for each child in foster care. We spend one-on-one time getting to know our families, their goals, lifestyles, and preferences. We provide strength-based parent training and a trauma-aware understanding of the kids who may become part of your family. We support you every step of the way through the process and transition into a forever family.
As of 2023, there are nearly 300,000 foster children in the United States, including over 5,000 in Virginia foster care. Each child needs a safe home and a nurturing family. Many foster kids will return to their birth parents when their family meets the court's conditions. Nearly 2,000 foster children cannot return home and hope they will find an adoptive family.
Virginia Social Services Departments have approved specific agencies to help state social workers find homes for the many children in need. ESP dedicates itself to foster children and families. We aim to find exceptional parents and get foster children into loving homes with adoptive or foster families. We also provide ongoing case management for children and respite care for parents.
We work hard to build a supportive - and supported - parent community of ESP families and care specialists. When choosing a child-placing agency partner, ask questions and assess their responsiveness and support resources. This will help you determine whether you've found a good fit. This lasting agency partnership will support your success in getting state approval and growing as a successful adoptive family.
Extra Special Parents goes above and beyond to help you succeed by offering guidance, education, and ongoing support.
Change a Life...YOURS!
If you have questions about adopting a foster child, we have answers. If you feel ready to take the next steps, give us a call at 866-605-3626. If you'd prefer we contact you, submit the form below.
Thank you for considering this amazing and rewarding parenting journey. Few paths in life have such a profound and ongoing impact.
Children do not choose to be in foster care. Foster youth often undergo trauma when authorities remove them from their families and familiar surroundings. This can be especially difficult if there are unsafe situations, as reported by Child Protective Services (CPS). Children may feel loss, anger, or fear about their futures without the life skills to manage strong emotions.
Foster care cannot change what has already happened. However, we can provide a soft landing place with a cozy place to sleep and a personal safe area. Every child needs an adult they can count on to believe in them and stay in their corner. Despite challenging times, with good foster care, children and youth have the opportunity for healthy, full, and fabulous lives.
With you at their side to love and support them, a child who knows trauma and pain will have the comfort and confidence to thrive.
Foster Parent training:
Resources & Support from Your Treatment Foster Care (TFC) agency Partner
Virginia requires training for all who want to become foster-to-adopt parents. Foster Parent Training is the same for foster and adoptive families. The curriculum provides information about strength-based parenting, navigating the foster care system, and appropriately managing behaviors. ESP takes a trauma-informed care approach.
As an Extra Special Parent family, you will receive ongoing training and support. We have groups that meet each month to cover a variety of high-interest parenting and foster care topics.
We're Always On Call!
In case of emergency, our crisis line is available 24/7/365 to help parents and children. We know events rarely happen during business hours, so we are ready to assist you when you need us most.
How You make a difference by Fostering to Adopt
Consider the impact and ripple effect you make on many lives by caring for one child who has suffered abuse or neglect. Your actions can bring hope and happiness, helping your child not only heal but thrive.
Positive changes for a child today carry forward as they grow into strong adults, excellent parents, neighbors and members of their community. Foster children continue to pay it forward. Your choice to adopt a foster child will genuinely change and improve many people's worlds.
When you foster to adopt, you ensure your child knows the warmth of a family. There is no better change in the world than finding your own purpose and helping children build their lives. For many foster and adoptive parents, this is a centering point as they manage challenges and celebrate milestones along the way.
If you feel ready to adopt a foster child, here are the next steps to becoming a parent:
Simply submit the contact form using the link, and an ESP Family Services Advocate will call you shortly. We are here to answer your questions, understand your goals, and guide you on this journey.
Fostering to adopt? we want to help.
Do you want to adopt a child? The team at Extra Special Parents can help you fulfill your dream. We are dedicated to helping foster children find loving and nurturing families and will connect you with resources to transform a child’s life. You can be the person who forever changes your child's life and helps them grow with confidence and success. Simply give us a call to answer questions and guide you every step when you are ready. AdoptionVA and Extra Special Parents are your partners to becoming a forever family to a foster child.
How We Are Improving the Adoption Process in Virginia
We are constantly innovating to make it easier for adoptive parents to find their child in care. We are helping more children in Virginia's foster care system find permanent, loving families. We are reducing wait times and raising adoption rates for foster-to-adopt parents.
More than 5,000 kids are in Virginia state foster care. Some of these youths need a temporary home until they can safely return to their birth family. Many others cannot return to their biological parents and are eligible for adoption. Thousands of foster kids -- infants to teens -- are waiting for adoptive families.
Every child needs an adult in their life who believes in them, keeps them safe, and supports their growth. Every child needs a family where they belong.
Foster-to-Adopt Today!
We have streamlined the process so you can more easily become the family your foster child needs. First, we are here to help you determine if fostering-to-adopt is right for you and your family. When you're ready, we will guide you every step of the way through this rewarding process.
Family Services Advocate
Your Family Services Advocate is your primary go-to. Your advocate is a partner on your journey to approval as a foster-to-adopt parent. Among their key roles is to educate you about the process and answer all your questions. They facilitate the process and also provide encouragement, support, and reminders to keep you on track.
Even after you receive approval to adopt a foster child, your Family Services Advocate remains by your side. They will support you as you prepare to welcome a child into your home for the first time and future placements you feel suit your family.
You will become part of the Extra Special Parents community. Here, you will find continuing support, information, and camaraderie from families who have chosen a similar journey.
Welcome!