Weekend Miracles Virginia2024-08-27T12:54:23-07:00

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Welcome to Weekend Miracles Virginia

Give an older child in foster care a chance at family.

What is Weekend Miracles?

Weekend Miracles provides a new way to find adoptive parents for older children and teens in foster care in Virginia. Through our Meet the Kids Events, kids and families get to know each other at their own pace, in safe, fun, and interactive environments. Most importantly, the kids have a voice and a choice in who they want to get to know. 

 Once a child makes a connection with a family, the adults can become the kid’s “host.” Hosts make a one-year commitment to regularly spend time with a child (at least twice a month) and become mentors to them, introducing them to friends, family, colleagues, and their local community in hopes of finding a forever family.  

 Hosts celebrate the kids’ milestones and successes and help guide them through hard times. Hosts are people just like you. Our hosts are singles, married couples, same-sex couples, with or without children, ready to make a difference in an older kid’s life. For many of our host families, the Weekend Miracles program is the ideal pathway to adoption as it enables them to build relationships gradually and organically. 

The Need in Virginia

There are over 4,800 children and teens in foster care in Virginia. More than 1,800 of them are between the ages of 13 and 18. Approximately 800 children have the goal of adoption and are currently available for placement in an adoptive home. Through no fault of their own, these kids find themselves growing up in a system that—despite its best intentions—was never designed to be a permanent solution.

Additionally, there are kids growing up in long-term foster care who would benefit from a lasting connection to a stable adult. Eighteen percent of teens age out of the system every year without a caring adult as a mentor or parent. The outlook for these kids is bleak; 20% of these youth will experience homelessness, fewer than 50% will graduate high school, and 20% will be incarcerated by the age of 21.

The impact of being in foster care, shuffled from one place to the next, causes learning disabilities and psychological problems. Most kids are behind academically, making it difficult to graduate from high school and even harder to go to college.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Weekend Miracles offers a proven approach for finding lasting mentors and adoptive families for older kids in foster care.

Weekeng Miracles Virginia

Become a host to an older kid in foster care in Virginia with Weekend Miracles.

Kidsave helps older kids in foster care find adoptive families and mentors in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and you can join us! Our Virginia program is a partnership with the Department of Social Services, Division of Family Services.

Our program will launch in late 2024 in Northern and Central Virginia. We need lots of caring adults like you who have a heart for children. Sign up today to learn more about the older kids in Virginia longing for families, and you will receive advance notice about our first event!

Weekend Miracles FAQ’s

Weekend Miracles provides a new way to find adoptive parents for older children and teens in foster care in Virginia. The purpose of this program is to successfully place waiting children in adoptive homes by increasing the children’s visibility and accessibility to people who can help them find permanent homes. Participating children become visible to the community through weekend and school break visits with host families who work with and support the children to help them find permanent families. Hosts often become life-long connections and/or adoptive families.

  1. Children are prepared, and prospective hosts are recruited, trained, and approved to participate.
  2. Children and prospective hosts meet at monthly advocacy events and get to know each other in a fun, interactive environment.
  3. A host family is matched with a child they have connected with through the monthly events.
  4. Host families commit to spending a minimum of 2 days a month with the child for one year. They develop a relationship of trust, and the host advocates to help find the child a permanent family. The host introduces kids to their networks and to their community.
  5. Miracles happen! A family may fall in love with a child and make the commitment to adopt the child they host. Others may be inspired to become hosts or advocates for the child.

The opinions of the children in the program are always considered and, as such, are a key factor in the program’s success. Matches with host families are encouraged based on interests, mutual goals, and the ages and genders of any children living in the host family’s home. Once a connection has occurred and both child and host family agree to be in a hosting relationship, the two are officially matched.

  • Ages 9 to 17, single children and sibling groups.
  • Children living with foster families, in general residential operations, and residential treatment centers throughout the Virginia area.
  • Children who might have educational, emotional, and/or developmental needs.

Children are referred to the program by their social worker. They must be open to a connection with a host and/or looking to achieve legal or relational permanency, and they must be capable of actively participating in supervised in-person events. Once matched, they must be able to independently engage with their host without a social worker present and successfully adapt to family living.

  • Hosts must be at least 25 years old and can be single, married, divorced, or separated, with any sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • Hosts must be in good health and able to actively support, advocate for, and mentor the host child.
  • No member of the host household can have a conviction for any violent crime or a crime against a child. Other types of prior convictions will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
  • The host family’s residence must provide a safe environment and include adequate space.

Some host families decide they are interested in adopting their host child. We are delighted when hosts and children develop such a strong connection! Hosts should let us know as soon as they think they might be interested in adoption. They should not, however, say anything directly to the child. To be considered as an adoptive placement, hosts must complete the adoption licensing and home study process through a local child placement agency.

Host families must complete Kidsave’s proprietary 12-hour trauma-based training and 90-minute program and advocacy training facilitated by Kidsave. This training is designed to prepare you for the unique challenges and responsibilities of hosting and parenting an older child in foster care. Hosts will receive training materials and resources such as the Host Family Handbook. Kidsave staff supports our families through the entire approval process and during hosting. We are always here for you!

  • Identification and referral of children who participate in the program
  • Child preparation and individual support
  • Background checks and clearances
  • Approval of hosts
  • Social work support to children and families
  • Matching and placement services
  • Pre- and post-adoption support and assistance

  • Information and outreach to the community and partnerships with civic, social, fraternal, and faith-based organizations
  • Planning and implementation of monthly advocacy events to introduce the children to the community
  • Publicity about older child adoption
  • Recruitment of host families and advocates and facilitation of host family and advocate training
  • Fundraising to sustain the program
  • Support to our partners to assist in meeting state guidelines and permanency goals
  • Education and training of stakeholders, lawmakers, and the courts on the benefits of the child-centric host family visit model approach.

  • Most definitely! Weekend Miracles depends on the efforts of many volunteers. Some volunteer opportunities include:
  • Champion children by reaching out to your circle of friends, family, members of your community and co-workers about kids who need a forever family.
  • Volunteer at weekend events, fundraisers, or community presentations, help us families, mentors, and other volunteers.
  • Follow us on social media and help us spread the word.
  • Create or join a committee for fundraising, event planning, or outreach. Contact Liz Crozer at liz@kidsave.org
  • Choose Kidsave International as your charity when you shop Amazon Smile or other retailers who support the charity of your choice. ·
  • Donate! Every dollar goes to programs that help kids find families.

Read More about Kidsave Families

“Savoring Every Moment”

Greg and Aaron reached a point in their lives where they were ready to start a family. As an LGBT couple looking to adopt, they wanted to go through organizations that were open-minded and would help them enjoy such an exciting time.

“I needed to heal myself, to heal others.”

Derly Beacom learned early on to be self-sufficient. “Growing up in an orphanage in Colombia, I knew I had to take care of myself.

They Found Forever, And Themselves

When Andrea first joined our Kidsave community, she wanted to make a difference by volunteering and providing care for LGBTQ+ kids growing up in foster care…

Doolan Family

The Art of Family

From a young age, Christine Doolan knew she wanted to adopt. As a child she spent 3 years in foster care, and this experience stayed with her.

EVENTS

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LATEST NEWS

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We can’t do this without you! Please get involved.

If you want to adopt a child, mentor a teen, volunteer, or start a program in your city please contact us.

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