We Follow Through: Need for foster care families rises sharply post pandemic

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — When I started looking into the need for more foster care families in Hampton Roads in 2022, I learned there were close to 1,000 children in the foster care system. Two years later, I've discovered while that number has stayed relatively the same, the number of families willing to open their doors to a child in need of a safe place to call home has plummeted.

Johanna Shafer remembers the moment she decided to turn her house into a home.

"It literally just kind of hit me," Shafer shared. "There are kids who need rooms, I have rooms, so let's look into that."

Before long, she opened her door to her first foster child. There have been many more in the years since.

"Of the kids that come in, the backgrounds that they have and the families that they come from are kind of shocking," Shafer said. "It's not just families that are struggling financially, or with addiction."

The backgrounds may be different, but their needs are similar.

"It's commitment," Jewel Cooper, Program Director with UMFS, a child and family services nonprofit.

"You need to be committed to our babies, you need to be there to work through the good and the bad. They need to know that no matter what happens, you're going to be there for them. And believe me, our kids are going to test you," she added.

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It's Cooper's job to connect children in need of a home with parents ready to take them in. I wanted to know what first-time foster families ask her about most.

"I think that sometimes, families may think that I can't be single and be a foster parent," Cooper said. "You certainly can. They may think that you have to make a certain amount of money. We don't have a gauge in terms of how much income you need. You just need to be able to meet your basic needs."

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The need for more parents is immense. There are nearly 1,000 children across Hampton Roads in the foster care system. But since my last report, organizations like UMFS have seen a steep decline in interested caregivers — about 40 percent since 2020.

There's no doubt, it takes a special person to take in a child.

"It's challenging," Coopers explains. "Just like it is when you parent your birth children, they're going to have issues. They're going to have ups and downs. But the key is they need you to hang in there with them."

Johanna Shafer agrees. It's hard work, but it's worth it.

"It's absolutely rewarding," Shafer told me. "It's knowing that you're investing in somebody else, somebody that, I mean, if they're not with us, where would they be?"