Fostering Virginia's Foster Kids
A research and advocacy project funded by PRK Drilling & Blasting, Inc. of Winchester, Virginia

With a generous commitment from Nicole Klebieko of PRK Drilling & Blasting, Inc., the Center will assess and make recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of Virginia’s foster care system. This research project seeks to achieve increased support for kids in foster care through a few potential avenues:

1. Increased funding streams;
2. Better management of existing resources (including child support paid by birth parents and voluntary contributions of foster parents);
3. Empowerment of foster parents; and
4. Enhanced information-sharing.

The Center’s work on this project will involve researching current state law and initiatives on the topic, reviewing current foster care policies and training in Virginia, and examining demonstration projects in other areas of the country. Once these findings are evaluated, we will suggest a few recommendations for strategies in reaching project goals, some of which may include:

• Creation of consortium to address funding needs and issues
• Development of multidisciplinary and agency training modules aimed at fostering better agency/foster parent engagement
• Development of foster parent training modules to address lack of knowledge/uneven bargaining power in subsidy negotiations and other foster care processes
• Development of tools for collection, retention, and sharing of critical medical and educational information about foster children

For more information on this research project, please contact our Executive Director, Denise St. Clair, at dstclair@law.capital.edu.