The foster care system has been overwhelmed with issues and has needed to be reformed for years. Luckily, the state of Virgina has an opportunity to finally make a difference. There are many proven flaws of the system, but the difficult part is how to go about fixing them effectively. One main issue with Virginias foster care system is the lack of preparation when it comes to teens ageing out of the system. The foster care system in our state has not been preparing teens for life outside of foster care and this issue needs to be resolved. One efficient way our state can go about fixing this issue is by establishing resource centers for teens currently in the system and after. These centers would be used to help educate foster teens about the simple tasks of living on your own as well as ways to heal their past traumas while making a better life for themselves.  

Once a teen in foster care turns eighteen, they are forced to navigate life on their own. Due to the swiftness of the release, they have little to no time to prepare for life outside of the system. According to Virginia’s department of social services “Twenty percent of teens aging out of foster care are greater risk for homelessness, unemployment and incarceration” (Foster Children Demographics in Virginia) That is an overwhelming number of young adults who are inevitably set up for failure due to our government’s incompetence. These resource centers would provide a safe and educational environment for teens to learn to live on their own and over time lower the percentage of unemployed, homeless, and incarcerated young adults.  

Teenagers in the foster care system have undergone some sort of trauma throughout their life which could later lead to mental health issues. The current process of going into the system includes little to no mental health screening which is an issue that needs to be addressed due to how many foster children suffer from mental illness. (Pecora, Peter J.) My proposed resource centers would be a place where foster children and teenagers will be able to get further mental health screening as well as be provided with the proper ways to go about assessing their mental health struggles.  

Children in the foster care system could be there for a number of reasons, but one reason has been on the rise. Shockingly enough, the opioid crisis has been leading to more and more children in the system. This is happening due to the fact that many children’s parents struggle with drug addiction, but unfortunately once they go to rehab their children end up in foster care. Over the last 15 years the number of children put into foster care due to their parent’s drug abuse has risen 60%. (Virginia Foster Care Support for Families Falters, as Opioid Epidemic Persists) Children who grew up in an environment where they were surrounded by drug users are more likely to go down the same path. Because of the likelihood of this happening to many teens, the government should act by opening resource centers that provide classes that educate foster teens about how to go about life correctly. These classes would be used to educate teens on the dangers of opioids to hopefully make them realize that that is not the right path to walk down.  

While you might believe that these centers would just be more costs for the government but think about what it would be preventing. These centers would eventually lead to a lesser homeless population, a lower unemployment rate, less people who end up in legal trouble, and overall, a better generation of people. Resource centers and support groups intended for foster youth have been used in other scenarios and have proven to be effective. They have started enforcing foster support groups in most Virgina community colleges and the change in statistics has been significant. (Zibton, Jenna) Since they have implemented these groups, more former foster children have been able to graduate than ever. 

These proposed resource centers would be nothing but some help for the young adults who were formally in the foster care system in our state. While you might not believe this issue affects you think about how much better your community would be with less homeless, more people employed, and with drugs off the streets. If we put these centers into effect, it would make a drastic change in how well the foster care in Virginia goes about preparing our country’s youth. These centers will help form the youth of today so we can have a better tomorrow. 

Works Cited 

• Board, The Virginian-Pilot Editorial. “Editorial: Crisis in Virginia’s Foster Care System.” The Virginian-Pilot, 2 Jan. 2019, Accessed 8 Mar. 2024. 
• Foster Children Demographics in Virginia | FosterVA Accessed 8 Mar. 2024. 
• L’Herrou, Valerie. “In 2024, Will Virginia Finally Address Its Poor Outcomes for Children in Foster Care? • Virginia Mercury.” Virginia Mercury, 7 Feb. 2024, 
•  Pecora, Peter J., et al. “Mental Health Services for Children Placed in Foster Care: An Overview of  Current Challenges.” Child Welfare, vol. 88, no. 1, 2009, pp. 5–26. PubMed Central, Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.
• Statistics On Foster Care In Virginia. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.
•  The Role of Foster Care Social Workers in Promoting Child Welfare. 21 Oct. 2022, Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.
•  Zibton, Jenna. “All Virginia Community Colleges Now Have Program for Students Who Have Been in Foster Care.” WSLS, 6 Nov. 2023 Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.
• “Virginia Foster Care Support for Families Falters, as Opioid Epidemic Persists.” VPM, 12 Mar. 2024,