There’s a foster care crisis brewing nationwide and advocates say it’s hitting Virginia particularly hard. The number of people willing to be foster parents is down significantly in both the Commonwealth and across the U.S.

Shaneen Alvarez, regional director of the nonprofit United Methodist Family Services or UMFS, said since 2020, the number of inquiries to her agency about becoming a foster parent is down 40%, leaving a lot of kids in need.

“In Virginia, the number is 5,000, so for us that is a high number. That means that there are children out there in need of families.”

According to UMFS, 650 of those kids in need are in Northern Virginia. Alvarez urged people to start the foster home process.

“These children and teens come with a lot of hurt, a lot of trauma, and you never underestimate the power of safe, stable families.”

The number of licensed foster homes is down in Maryland and D.C. as well, according to the agency Who Cares.

Between 2019 and 2023, the number of homes able to take in kids dropped by nearly 700 in Maryland, and by 235 in D.C. May is National Foster Care Month, and UMFS is hoping people will open their hearts and homes and become foster parents.

The agency said most of the training can be done online.

“Our trainings are designed to guide and prepare families for the foster care process to help youth find stable and loving environments,” UMFS President Nancy Toscano said in a news release.

Becoming a foster parent takes anywhere from three to six months.