Advocacy
Amplifying the Voices of Kids and familiesRaising awareness is crucial to ending the foster care crisis. Many people do not even know just how serious this issue is, and it's never too soon to speak up!
Advocacy is not limited to lobbying government officials. At VKB we are raising advocates in every sector of the community.
As an advocate you can amplify the voice of a child to ensure they are treated with fairness and dignity. You can connect your circle of influence to help meet direct needs. You can even share your connections with foster youth looking to get started in life.
Social Media Advocate
Follow VKB and share our posts!Social media is about connecting people to people. Your reactions, comments and shares help ensure our most important posts get the exposure they need.
YOU can become a VKB Social Media Advocate to help us maximize the power of the Internet for the kids in foster care. We'll share tips and tricks to make it easy.
Tip #1: When you share one of our kids' videos change your share setting to Public to expand the number of people who will be shown your share.
Become an "official" VKB Social Media Advocate to receive more tips, special requests, and advanced content.
Contact Your Legislators
Share what's important to youAdvocate for kids and families by contacting your state legislator about the foster care and kinship care reforms that are being considered. In simple terms, tell them how important it is to you to spend the necessary time and money to provide appropriate support for foster, adoptive and kinship families and the vulnerable kids they serve.
Host a Meeting
engage your circle of influenceThe VKB team is available to speak to any small or large group. Whether you are hosting a business meeting or want to have a small group at your home we have resources to help you advocate for these kids. If you group wants to find ways to meet specific needs we can provide ideas and contacts to get started.
Legislation
recent updatesLearn more about recent legislative advancements for kids and families in foster care including the newly created Kinship Bill. Read the 2018 JLARC Report (or its much shorter Executive Summary) to familiarize yourself more with the current state of affairs in Virginia's foster care system. Learn more about the 2022 Safe and Sound Taskforce to familiarize yourself more with the current efforts to improve Virginia's foster care system.
2025 Priorities
Fighting the Foster Care Crisis- Cultivate a Healthy and Growing Workforce through strong trauma informed training program
- Create and Fund a Foster Care Prevention Program. The program will include maintenance payments equal to foster care payments for kin placements as well as social supports for the family.
- Support efforts to expand resources and programs that prevent young people from aging out of foster care without permanent connections, ensuring they have access to stable housing, education, and employment opportunities.