In Virginia, permanency is defined as a stable, long-term living situation for children in foster care, providing them with a sense of belonging, continuity, and legal and social stability. When a child enters foster care, reunification with their birth family is typically the primary permanency goal. The local Department of Social Services (LDSS) works closely with various stakeholders to establish this goal and provides services to support the family in creating a safe and supportive environment that allows the child to return home.
If reunification is not possible, LDSS collaborates to identify alternative permanency options that meet the child’s long-term needs. Permanency remains a critical focus in foster care, guiding the path toward a secure, lasting home for children in the child welfare system. This often involves finding a family environment where children can stay connected to their roots, family, and culture, nurturing a foundation of emotional stability and identity.
This blog explores permanency and the journey to achieve it, highlighting why it is so essential to the well-being of children and youth in foster care. By offering insight into this process, it provides reassurance and clarity to parents, foster care professionals, and those dedicated to supporting children in need of stable, loving homes.
What is Permanency in Foster Care?
Permanency in foster care fundamentally refers to establishing a stable, long-lasting living environment for children. The permanency planning process begins as soon as a child enters the system to prevent prolonged uncertainty or instability in their lives. While the ideal outcome is often reunification with the child’s family of origin, other options exist for achieving permanency. These include kinship adoption and foster family adoption, which may be necessary when returning to the family is not feasible.
Engaging Families in Permanency Planning
Involving children, youth, and families in planning decisions ensures a successful path to permanence. The goal for each child is to find a home where they feel safe, loved, and connected. When placement outside the home of origin is necessary, Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) professionals prioritize placing children with family members or close friends who can provide a familiar, supportive environment. This approach not only promotes stability but also helps preserve important family connections.
The Role of Kinship Care
Kinship care—when children are placed with relatives or close family friends—is vital in creating stable placements. Children in kinship care are more likely to remain connected to their family, friends, and community. LDSS agencies work to foster these connections by facilitating regular visits with siblings, other relatives, and significant adults, which not only promotes relational permanency but also underscores the value of these relationships in a child’s life.
Reunification: The Primary Goal of Permanency
For children in foster care, reunification with their families is often the primary goal, as it allows them to return to the people they know and love. LDSS professionals support reunification by employing trauma-informed, family-centered approaches focusing on family strengths. These approaches include engaging maternal and paternal relatives and fictive kin—non-blood relations who are like family—who understand the family’s dynamics and can provide valuable support. These approaches might involve providing counseling services, creating a safe and supportive environment for family visits, and offering resources to address any underlying issues that may have led to the child’s placement in foster care.
Adoption: Another Path to Permanency
When reunification isn’t possible, adoption becomes a crucial path to permanency. “113,000 children and youth in foster care are waiting to be adopted, many of whom are over age 12” Coalition of Congress Adoption Institute. Adoption in foster care is not only a legal process but a deeply social and emotional one, requiring families to understand the trauma and loss that children in foster care have endured.
For adoptive parents, support services are essential to fostering long-term stability. These may include subsidies and trauma-informed services that help families learn how to meet the needs of children who have experienced significant hardship. By engaging in trauma-informed parenting, adoptive parents can make a world of difference in a child’s journey to healing and belonging.
Concurrent Permanency Planning: Supporting Multiple Goals
Foster care involves concurrent permanency planning, meaning agencies work toward reunification while also considering adoption only if reunification is not possible. This dual approach increases the likelihood that children find stability more quickly rather than facing years of uncertainty. Foster families, whether relatives or not, play an essential role in supporting both reunification and adoption paths, fostering secure attachments that may continue even if the child is eventually adopted, and making them feel the impact of their contribution.
Moving Forward with Permanency
Permanency planning is an ongoing process that requires dedication, compassion, and collaboration among child welfare professionals, caregivers, and communities. By involving children, youth, and families in decisions, prioritizing kinship care, and offering accessible reunification and adoption services, such as counseling, legal support, and financial assistance, we can work toward a brighter future for every child in foster care to attain permanency.