As we embark on another year in 2023, we’re proud to share KVC West Virginia’s Impact Report and highlight the positive effect that our professional staff and generous supporters have made in our community last year!

KVC West Virginia is a private, nonprofit organization that strengthens families and prevents child abuse and neglect. Our dedicated team provides foster care, adoption, in-home therapy, substance use treatment and educational support services to children and families across the state. We all need connection — and that’s what our dedicated team strives to deliver through our wide variety of services.

How has KVC West Virginia supported our communities this past year? Discover KVC’s compassionate services, our impact this year and how you can get involved.  

How KVC West Virginia is Making a Difference

Many children and families in West Virginia currently experiencing challenges need support from trained professionals to live safely and build meaningful life connections. Find out how KVC West Virginia has helped families overcome challenges in 2022.

Foster Care

On average, 6,000 children and teens are in West Virginia foster care. For these young people, foster care creates a safe, stabilizing environment as their families work to resolve conflicts or disruptions at home. Foster parents are vital partners in the foster care and reunification processes. Reunification is the goal of foster care. When reunification is impossible and the situation is right for the child, KVC works through the adoption process to create a permanent, loving home for children in foster care. 

Learn more about becoming a foster parent.

Safe at Home West Virginia

Through the Safe at Home West Virginia program, KVC West Virginia works with the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) to provide comprehensive services to children ages 5 to 17 with behavioral health needs.

Research shows that children have the best chance to thrive while living in the homes of loving families rather than congregate care. By providing wraparound services to children, KVC joins the state of West Virginia to help children living in congregate care settings safely return to their home communities and, ultimately, their families.

Therapists, youth care specialists, wraparound facilitators and many more KVC professionals use evidence-based services to achieve these goals. With these efforts, KVC is able to ensure youth live in their communities when possible, decrease reliance on foster or congregate care, reduce children in high-cost out-of-state placements and reunify families.

Contact your local KVC office to learn more about this program.

Reunification

At KVC West Virginia, our goal is to reunite youth in foster care with their family members. We work toward this using our Safe & Connected™ practice model. This program helps our staff complete strategic assessments, treat all with respect, collaborate with case professionals and include youth and their families in meaningful ways. 

An important aspect of reunification is visitation. When foster care youth can visit their family, they experience less anxiety, depression and behavioral adjustments. KVC partners with foster parents to create a visitation plan. Across the nation, more than half of the children who enter foster care are safely reunified with their families. While children may be in foster care for a year on average, this time depends on family members resolving conflicts and creating a safe place to live. 

Adoption

The Keaton family

Since 2012, KVC West Virginia has offered adoption services as well. Adoptive families offer a safe, nurturing home for children who are unable to return to their birth family safely. Most children who are adopted through KVC are adopted by their foster parents or a relative who has been providing care. We focus on locating and selecting the best possible family for a child, rather than finding a child for a specific family. Adoption from foster care is essentially free of financial cost. Furthermore, KVC provides families with preparation, resources, support and events during the adoption journey to facilitate successful adoptions. 

Learn more about becoming an adoptive parent.

In-Home Family Services

Studies show a positive impact on conducting family services in the home or community rather than in a professional office setting. KVC provides child, family and individual mental health therapy to help clients live healthy and happy lives. Clients work with licensed therapists to process trauma, resolve conflicts and address behavioral and mental health related issues. We offer therapy in clients’ homes, in clients’ schools, in our offices and via telehealth. With trauma-informed treatment approaches, KVC licensed therapists offer high-quality therapy and supportive services.

KVC also helps caregivers establish and maintain a safe, enriching home environment so families can stay safely together. With supportive services such as life skills demonstrations, parenting classes, supervised visitation, transportation, etc. through our socially-necessary program, we provide families with the skills and education they need to strengthen their connections with each other.

Call your local KVC office to check service availability in your area.

Outpatient Substance Use Treatment

With the resources and community needed for recovery, West Virginia citizens ages 18 and older find the support they need in our Intensive Outpatient Substance Use Treatment Program (IOP). This program centers around individual and group therapy facilitated by trained mental health professionals. Consisting of a total of 10 hours of therapy a week, those in treatment participate in one hour of one-on-one therapy and nine hours of group therapy with highly qualified professionals. At KVC, we use the Matrix model of addiction treatment. This model is a highly recognized evidence-based treatment model to assist in substance use recovery. 

To learn more or to start these services, contact Mital Patel at 304-929-4130.

KVC West Virginia’s 2022 Impact

What did KVC West Virginia accomplish in 2022? Here’s a snapshot of our staff and supporters’ positive impact on the lives of West Virginia children and families this year. 

• 634 children were cared for by KVC foster families
• 136 youth were safely reunited with their families after foster care
• 118 adoptions of children in foster care were facilitated 
• 690 children and adults received in-home support

Check out our full 2022 Impact Report for more information on the positive change KVC created in our communities. 

Get Involved & Create a Positive Impact with KVC West Virginia

KVC West Virginia has created this uplifting change in the community with the help of generous supporters and our professional team. You can be a part of this positive force. Learn how you can get involved with KVC West Virginia and start making a difference today:

• Join the KVC team. Be a part of an organization that offers purpose, passion and benefits! We are actively hiring social workers, therapists and other professionals to help provide KVC West Virginia’s uplifting services. See what job openings we have available.
• Share on social media. You can spread the word about challenges faced by those in your community and celebrate children’s and families’ successes. Be a part of the extended team we need to provide a solution. Follow KVC on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to share with your network. 
• Foster or adopt a child. Children in the West Virginia foster care system need safe places to learn and grow without leaving their community. You can learn more about becoming a foster parent by signing up. 
• Make a donation. Your generosity ensures that KVC West Virginia can continue to offer our life-changing services. We’re purposeful with our donations and ensure that 90% of operational expenses go toward our programs. Learn more about how you can donate.

About KVC West Virginia

KVC West Virginia is a nonprofit organization that strengthens families, prevents child abuse and neglect, and helps children and adults achieve mental wellness. We provide in-home family strengthening and preservation services, foster care, family reunification services, kinship care, mental and behavioral outpatient therapy services, adoption and more. Learn more.