Virginia's Office of the Children's Ombudsman

The 2025 Annual Report of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman is now available and can be found on the OCO website at https://www.oco.virginia.gov/reports/ and on the Legislative Information System (LIS) Reports website at https://rga.lis.virginia.gov/Published/2025/RD556

This Office was created in 2020 by the General Assembly as a means of effecting changes in policy, procedure, and legislation; educating the public; investigating and reviewing the actions of departments of social services and other foster care agencies; and monitoring and ensuring compliance with relevant statutes, rules, and policies pertaining to Child Protective Services and Foster Care.

Each year, we are required to submit an Annual Report highlighting our work over the past year and any recommendations for changes in laws, regulations, or policies we think are necessary to improve Virginia’s child welfare system.

Our Director, Eric Reynolds participated in an interview with Families Forward Virginia during Child Abuse Prevention Month to speak about our first annual report. Please visit our website at oco.virginia.gov to access our full annual report!

https://vimeo.com/818386731

Interview with the Virginia Children's Ombudsman For April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, Families Forward Virginia is organizing this virtual interview with the Virginia Children’s Ombudsman on their first…

Our Director, Eric Reynolds and office staff joined the Foster Care Caucus yesterday morning. We are thankful for the opportunity to share this space with community partners and youth with lived experience in advocating for child welfare priorities this General Assembly session.

Thank you, Governor Youngkin for sharing about Kinship Care and its importance for Virginia’s children and families!

Kinship Appreciation

We are very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Worthdays in support of Petersburg Department of Social Services visitation room transformation. We understand the importance of trauma-informed environments to better meet the needs of children and their families, and are happy to be apart of making a difference in the community.

Worthdays, thank you for being a difference maker, and a light for many youth in care!

Did you know September is Child Welfare Workforce Development Month? The Office of the Children's Ombudsman frequently engages with Local Departments of Social Services to improve practices for children and families engaged in the child welfare system. The OCO recognizes the compassion, hard work, and dedication demonstrated by local agency workers, supervisors, and directors in order to empower Virginia's children and families. Your service is recognized and appreciated.

Kinship Care Awareness Month emphasizes the importance of maintaining familial, communal, and cultural connections and highlights the importance of helping children grow, learn, and thrive in familiar environments!

"In my case, the atmosphere of distrust created by CPS’s threat to remove the girls to foster care weakened the network that we had built in order to endure crises. Instead of being a part of the family’s safety net, I was seen as part of a surveillance system. Instead of being positioned to help reunite the children with their mother, the agency instructed me to not let the girls go home until she did what the agency said," says Aubrey Edwards- Luce, Vice President of Child Welfare and Youth Justice at First Focus on Children.

How Hidden Foster Care Harms Children and Parents of Color - The Imprint After her own experience with hidden foster care, Aubrey Edwards-Luce hopes the Children's Bureau can better support kin caregivers and promote racial justice.

“Virginia’s foster youth will now face more opportunities than ever, as we catch them at this critical period in their lives, helping more students to build successful careers through higher education,” says Jennifer Gentry, Ed.D., executive director and vice chancellor for institutional advancement at Virginia Foundation for Community College Education.

State Lawmakers Approve $1 Million Grant to Help Foster Youth Receive College Education Virginia lawmakers registered a win recently for young adults hailing from the Commonwealth’s foster care system, by approving a two-year spending pla

National Reunification Month highlights the efforts made to strengthen familial bonds, nurture connections, and recognize the importance of keeping Virginia's children and families together to build a better future.

Have you heard about hidden foster care in Virginia?

https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/05/31/department-of-social-services-could-be-putting-safety-of-children-at-risk/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=jzibton&fbclid=IwAR2sCKQODbVyQWF6rfHpiSTWxzce5Yk50VJBV5c-osbzLWlcoFnvsGTRSmI

Department of Social Services could be putting safety of children at risk Thousands of children are being diverted from foster care, sent to live with family or friends, without the proper background checks

“I'll tell them it's the toughest job you'll ever love,” Maria Rosas said. “But I love doing foster care, and it's so rewarding to see these children flourish. To know they have the support to continue their journey through life is incredible. Things they couldn't do or fears they overcome. It's incredible to see that growth.”

Why it's important to keep foster, biological families connected Supporting children until they can be reunited with their biological family is a crucial goal of the foster care system.