NORFOLK, Va. — The foster care system in Virginia has over five thousand kids waiting to be adopted.
According to United Methodist Family Services, 46% of those kids at 13 years old and up.
November is Adoption Awareness Month and in an effort to bring awareness to the needs of teens in the foster care system, UMFS is calling for action.
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"We do have that opportunity to close that gap," says George Mack, Project Life Manager.
Project Living Independently Focusing on Empowerment, or better known as Project LIFE is a program connected to UMFS.
They offer insight the independent support and resources available to teens, even up to the age of 23.
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"We get to work on dual sides when it comes to working with the actual case worker as well as the youth, so that everybody can be moving forward together cause ultimately the youth are in the driver seat. We’re just trying to figure out how to navigate them through this path," said Mack.
But now they are calling for more support from the community.
Leaders say your time is more valuable than you think.
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"They can be a respid placement where they can be a relief to a family. That’s one option that they can go through their local agencies. They can also get connected to some of those mentoring programs."
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