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News:

NEW! How You Can Put Kids First

Help prevent family violence by ordering your KidsFirst license plate. Proceeds go to the Virginia Fact and Children's Trust Fund (FACT), which disburses the funds to local public and private organizations that fight family violence in your community, like child abuse, domestic violence, exploitation and teen dating violence. And now, $15 of the $25 purchase price is tax deductable. Plus, having the plate on your vehicle shows that you care about Virginia's kids and families and keeping them safe. FACT operates in partnership with the Virginia Department of Social Services.

Foster Care Workers Make History

Using SafeMeasures, foster care workers have reached a major milestone. Monthly foster care worker visits are above the national mandate of 90 percent. SafeMeasures is VDSS' Web service that makes tracking and measuring successes and progress related to the Children's Services Transformation much easier. Read More

Watch the 2010 VDSS Family Engagement Video

Do You Have Promising Practices?

Do you know of a new practice, strategy or approach that is being used in your locality to improve the support of  and provision of services to Virginia’s children and families?  If so, we want to know!  We are working to collect promising practices from across Virginia so that localities can learn from one another about what has been working as we strive to transform our child serving systems. Share your localities promising practices.

Talking Transformation

The Daily Progress : A family reunion of sorts for foster care alumni

Growing up, Brandy Hudson-Carnes bounced between 32 foster care homes.

The particulars of Hudson-Carnes’ life story are unique, but an unstable family life is something well understood by the dozens of foster care alumni who gathered at McIntire Park on Saturday for a “family reunion” of their own.

To read more, click here.

Richmond Times-Dispatch :Reforms help states cut number of foster-care kids

No single youngster can be the poster child for America's foster-care system, with its mix of happy endings and heartache. Yet Tatiana Fowler's smile, as she embraces the woman who adopted her, gives a hint at the groundswell of change that is altering that mix for the better.To read more, click here.

I Felt I was Growing Up by Myself

This poignant new video from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption shares in two and a half minutes the stories of six children whose lives were transformed once adopted by a loving forever family. The video’s message is powerful and positive. It is available on YouTube or on the Foundation website for Local Departments of Social Services to download and use.

Richmond Times-Dispatch :Celebrating 110 Years of Service

This year, UMFS (United Methodist Family Services) celebrates 110 years of helping children, youth and families. Founded in 1900 as an orphanage, UMFS now delivers 53 percent of its services to children and families in their communities. The agency is still based at 3900 W. Broad St. in Richmond, with a total of 12 locations across Virginia.

To read more, click here