Pictured above: Recent forever families! Click here to learn more about the process in West Virginia to adopt from foster care.

Over the past year, KVC West Virginia has helped 65 youth find their forever families! These are children and teens who have experienced abuse, neglect or other serious family challenges and experienced foster care as a result. While the main goal of foster care is to reunify children with their parents as safely and quickly as possible, in some cases this isn’t an option and adoption becomes the new goal. Nationwide, there are 400,000+ youth in foster care and over 117,000 are waiting for an adoptive family. Every one of these waiting children deserves the love and security that a permanent home provides.

Interested in adopting? Sign up for the free foster and adoptive parent training classes.

Adopting a child from foster care is essentially FREE, which is not the case with private and international adoptions. Learn more about how much it costs to adopt a child. In West Virginia, there are more than 7,000 children and teens in foster care. Become a foster parent and open your heart and home to a child in need. Check out some recent, amazing stories of youth in foster care who’s adoptions we helped facilitate over the past year! 

Meet Some New Forever Families!

McCloud Family 

Reece Family

Late April is a beautiful time for a new forever family pic! With the bright green grass framing Bryce and Aspyn and their adoptive parents Tiffany & Bryon Reece, this family is glowing!

Lawson-Price Family

Families come in all shapes and sizes but all have one thing in common: they love and support each other. Congratulations Mikah on receiving your forever home with Tharen & Michael Lawson-Price in mid February!

Brown Family

Alannah and Christian were in foster care for 608 days, but Jan. 27 brought a big game day win when they joined their forever family with Courtney & Greg Brown!

National Adoption Month 2021

Throughout National Adoption Month, and particularly on National Adoption Day which is November 20 this year, courthouses across the country will help families finalize their adoptions and grow in love. The theme of National Adoption Month 2021 is “Every Conversation Matters,” which focuses on prioritizing youth engagement in order to give them a better future after foster care. Ensuring children and teens have life-long connections is critical in determining their future well-being. Approximately one in five children in U.S. foster care waiting to be adopted are teens, but only 5% of all children adopted in 2017 were 15-18 years old.

According to the most recent AFCARS report, of the 117,000 children and youth waiting to be adopted:

• 52% are male and 48% are female
• 44% are white, 22% are Black or African American and 23% are Hispanic (of any race)
• The average age is 7-8 years old
• Average time in foster care is 32 months

Check out these emotionally moving PSA videos on the rewards of adopting a teen and a sibling group:

About KVC West Virginia Adoption

KVC’s adoption work is done in partnership with the West Virginia Department for Health and Human Services. You can view online profiles and learn more about children who need to be adopted. Meet some of the children needing adoptive families in West Virginia at adoptuskids.org. These profiles include photos and bios. 

If you’ve ever considered adopting, one of the best ways to know if it’s the best choice for you and your family is to foster! This free checklist provides an overview of the requirements and will help you decide if you’re ready to take the next step.