NORFOLK, Va. — Author's note: The video above is on file from May 4, 2020.
November is National Adoption Month, and the Norfolk Department of Human Services has released its latest set of data that reflects the need of children and adolescents within Hampton Roads.
According to the data, in September of this year, there were 51 children in Norfolk looking for their forever families. 36 of those children are completely ready for adoption.
Within the last decade, the number of children was highest in September 2014, when 110 children were waiting to find permanent homes.
As often as possible, the DHS tries to stabilize birth families and return children to their biological homes when possible or beneficial for the child or children.
The public dataset looks at children by demographics, including sex, age and race. You can read more about it by clicking here.
The number of children in foster care throughout the state was experiencing a dip, but now it is on the rise again. Nationally, on any day there are nearly 424,000 children in the foster care system. Many stay for at least a year, and many more are there for five years or more.
On a larger scale, the Commonwealth saw 849 total adoptions from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, according to data from the Virginia Department of Social Services. Here's a breakdown of cities with numbers larger than 10 in Hampton Roads:
- 12 child adoptions in Gloucester
- 16 child adoptions in Hampton
- 21 child adoptions in Newport News
- 21 child adoptions in Norfolk
- 39 child adoptions in Virginia Beach
The city releases this data on an annual basis in hopes of increasing transparency and encouraging the community to get involved and help how they can.
If you have any questions about the data or about how you can get involved, contact DHS staff at 757-664-4007 or email them at opendata@norfolk.gov.