- Services
Overview
KVC strengthens families using wraparound services so children can remain with their own families and in their own communities when safely possible. We also provide foster care, reunification support, adoption, outpatient mental health therapy, in-home family services and educational support.
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Children and Families Need You
Through KVC, you can strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and help create a bright future where every person is safe and connected to a strong family and a healthy community. Please join us today! Learn More about children and families in need
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- Resources
Overview
Our free resources help you stay informed and educated about foster care, adoption, mental health and childhood trauma as well as how KVC West Virginia is working toward building healthier communities.
- About Us
About KVC West Virginia
KVC West Virginia is a private, nonprofit organization that serves over 3,000 children, teens and adults each year. Our team of caring professionals provides home- and community-based services that strengthen families and prevent foster care, outpatient mental health therapy, foster care, foster parent recruitment and support, adoption, and youth academic and mentorship programs.
We envision a world in which every person is safe and connected to a strong family and a healthy community.
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- Blog
Foster Care
What is foster care?
Foster care in West Virginia provides a temporary arrangement for a child when they are not able to live with their biological parents or other natural caregivers. During this time, child welfare professionals work to find the best possible relative, foster family or other placement option for that child until they can safely return home or a permanency plan is identified.
Who is in West Virginia foster care?
On any given day, there are more than 6,000 youth in West Virginia foster care. They range from infants to 18 years old, and even up to 21 years old in states that have extended foster care. The average age of a child in foster care is 9 years old, and there are slightly more boys than girls.
The median amount of time that a child is in foster care is just over a year. More than half of these children will be safely reunified with their parents or primary caregivers, and nearly one-quarter will be adopted, many by their foster parents.
In the U.S., over 20,000 youth leave the foster care system each year because they have not yet been safely reunited with their families or adopted, and are too old to remain in state custody.
Why are children in foster care?
Most of the children and teens in foster care have experienced child abuse or neglect in some capacity. Each state determines how physical, sexual and emotional abuse are defined, and youth enter foster care if it meets these criteria.
Neglect can include physical neglect, medical neglect or lack of supervision. Physical neglect includes, but is not limited to, failure to provide the child with food, clothing or shelter necessary to sustain the life or health of the child. Other reasons can include parents being incarcerated or abandonment.
What are the different types of foster care?
Different types of foster care exist to meet the unique needs of each child and family, including:
- Relative/kinship care
- Non-related kin
- Traditional foster care
- Specialized therapeutic or medical foster care
- Respite care
Learn more about the types of foster care →
What is the main goal of foster care?
When a youth enters foster care, the goal is to provide them with a safe, stable place to live while their family receives support and works to address the challenges that led to their child entering care.
When it is safe to do so, youth are reunited with their families. Before returning home, families work with child welfare professionals to make the changes needed to provide a safe and stable home.
More than half of youth who enter foster care are safely reunified with their families. If returning home is not possible, the goal becomes finding another permanent and supportive home through adoption, relative placement, custodianship (guardianship) or, for older youth, independent living.
The amount of time a youth spends in foster care varies. For some, it may be a matter of months. For others, it can take longer depending on their individual circumstances and their family’s progress toward creating a safe home.
How does foster care lead to permanency?
Foster care is a safe place that gives a child and their birth family an opportunity to resolve conflicts or disruptions and learn healthy skills so the child can safely return home.
Many birth families need help learning effective parenting skills, overcoming substance use or learning healthy ways to cope from trauma they themselves have experienced.
More than half of children who enter foster care are safely reunited with their birth families. If a child cannot be safely reunited with their birth family, the goal becomes to find a permanent home for the child through adoption, relative placement, custodianship (guardianship) or, for older youth, independent living.
You Can Make a Difference
Foster parents provide a dependable, nurturing environment for youth who need a safe place to be. We understand that fostering can be challenging, which is why KVC provides families with resources and training to help support them along the way. Learn more about becoming a foster parent by filling out the form below.