Foundation Receives Award for Support of Foster Children
The Freddie Mac Foundation recently received an award from VA Gov. Kaine and First Lady Holton for supporting efforts to transform Virginia’s child services system and reduce the number of children in foster care.
The Freddie Mac Foundation, along with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, also sponsored the first Governor's Conference on Children's Services Transformation. The conference brought together about 600 stakeholders and advocates to celebrate milestones of the Children's Services Transformation program and to share best practices to help at-risk children and their families. First Lady Anne Holton hosted the Commonwealth’s conference.
"The Virginia Children's Services System Transformation is based on the belief that every child deserves a safe, loving and stable life with their family," Governor Kaine said. "Unfortunately, that's not always possible and, in those instances, child service agencies must find other options for safe and stable environments, such as kinship care, as quickly as possible."
Since the Children's Services System Transformation began in December of 2007, the number of children in group foster care has been reduced by 42% statewide. This decrease means that there are 810 fewer children in group care than when the Transformation began.
The Transformation grew out of First Lady Holton's "For Keeps" initiative, which launched in early 2007 with support from the Foundation.
"We have a lot of children counting on us, and we've made great progress," First Lady Holton said. "There are fewer children in the system. We've gone from 8,800 children to 6,600. For the first time, in a long time, we're able to show positive measurable results."
“The lives of these children and their futures are really in the balance. This issue is critical on so many levels – for each and every child, for families, and for our communities, “ said Ralph Boyd, Jr., president and CEO, Freddie Mac Foundation. “We’ve made significant strides, and are privileged to continue our efforts to improve the lives of children in foster care.”
Transformation partners have worked to increase effectiveness in helping at-risk children and their families succeed through strengthening safety measures for children and families, family-based placements, and lifelong family connections. The goal has been to place more children with caring families and reduce the number of kids – especially older children – in foster and group home care.