Virginia’s Fostering Futures program lets young adults ages 18 to 21 keep foster care support — housing, monthly maintenance payments, Medicaid, and a caseworker — after they legally become adults, as long as they were in a local department of social services’ custody when they turned 18 and are working, in school, or doing another qualifying activity. The program is voluntary, you sign up through your local department of social services, and you can leave and come back.
Who Qualifies
Two things have to be true. First, your foster care history: you were in the custody of a local department of social services immediately before your 18th birthday, you were still in foster care at that point, and you originally entered care under a court order.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-919 – Fostering Futures Program; Eligibility
Second, you have to be doing at least one of the following:
- Finishing high school or a GED.
- Attending college or a vocational school.
- Working at least 80 hours a month.
- Participating in an employment-readiness program.
- Unable to do any of the above because of a documented medical condition kept current in your case plan.
The medical exemption exists so a health problem on its own won’t push you out of the program.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 63.2 Chapter 9 Article 2 – Fostering Futures
What You Get
Monthly Payments and Housing
The program continues foster care maintenance payments at a rate no lower than what was being paid for you immediately before you turned 18. If you stay with a foster family, the payment goes to the foster parents. If you move into a supervised independent living arrangement, the local department can send all or part of it directly to you.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 63.2 Chapter 9 Article 2 – Fostering Futures
Housing options include staying with your foster parents, living in a college dorm with room and board, or supervised independent living once you and your caseworker agree you’re ready.3Virginia Department of Social Services. Fostering Futures Group homes and other congregate care settings are not allowed under this program.4Legal Information Institute. 22 Virginia Administrative Code 40-201-105 – Foster Care for Youth 18 to 21 Years of Age (Fostering Futures Program)
Medicaid
You keep Medicaid coverage under Virginia’s state plan while you’re in the program.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 63.2 Chapter 9 Article 2 – Fostering Futures Health coverage doesn’t stop when the program ends either. Under the Affordable Care Act, former foster youth who were in care and enrolled in Medicaid at 18 qualify for continued Medicaid up to age 26 regardless of income, and Virginia automatically enrolls eligible young people into that coverage group when they age out, so there shouldn’t be a gap.5Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. Medicaid for Youth in Foster Care
A Case Plan You Help Build
You work with a caseworker on a plan that covers your living arrangement, the resources that will help you move toward full independence, and services tied to your specific goals. You can pick up to two additional people to sit on your case planning team, as long as they aren’t your foster parent or your caseworker.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 63.2 Chapter 9 Article 2 – Fostering Futures
How to Sign Up
Start by contacting your local department of social services. You’ll be matched with a caseworker who confirms your eligibility and walks you through the paperwork.
The paperwork itself is called a Voluntary Continuing Services and Support Agreement, or VCSSA. It’s essentially a contract: you acknowledge that you’re legally an adult, agree to live in a supervised setting, stay in contact with your caseworker, report changes in your circumstances, and name the qualifying activity you’re pursuing. The department commits to the services on its side.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-918 – Definitions
Within 30 days of signing the VCSSA, the local department has to petition the juvenile and domestic relations court to review the agreement and approve your case plan.4Legal Information Institute. 22 Virginia Administrative Code 40-201-105 – Foster Care for Youth 18 to 21 Years of Age (Fostering Futures Program)
Leaving and Coming Back
The agreement is voluntary. You can end it any time, and if you do, the local department has to give you written notice explaining the potential consequences, your right to re-enter, and how to do that.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 63.2 Chapter 9 Article 2 – Fostering Futures
There is no cap on how many times you can leave and re-enter before you turn 21. If you turned the program down at 18, or signed up and then dropped out, you can come back. Contact your local social services office, show you meet one of the five qualifying activities, and sign a new VCSSA.4Legal Information Institute. 22 Virginia Administrative Code 40-201-105 – Foster Care for Youth 18 to 21 Years of Age (Fostering Futures Program)3Virginia Department of Social Services. Fostering Futures
Short gaps while you’re in the program are expected. Academic breaks between semesters and transitions between activities that last 30 days or less are not grounds for termination.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 63.2 Chapter 9 Article 2 – Fostering Futures So the stretch between the end of a semester and the start of a summer job won’t put your benefits at risk, as long as you let your caseworker know what’s going on.
If You’re Terminated
The local department can’t cut you off without notice. Virginia law requires 30 days of written notice before termination, and that notice must include four things: the reason for termination, how to appeal, confirmation that you can re-enter once you re-establish eligibility, and contact information for community resources, including programs funded under the federal Chafee Foster Care Independence Act.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-922 – Termination of Voluntary Continuing Services and Support Agreement; Notice; Appeal
You have the right to appeal. Appeals of a termination, or of delays in receiving services the VCSSA promises, follow the procedures in Virginia Code § 63.2-915 and the Board of Social Services regulations.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-922 – Termination of Voluntary Continuing Services and Support Agreement; Notice; Appeal If you think a termination notice is wrong, contact your caseworker or the local department right away. The 30-day window is short.
Education and Financial Aid for Former Foster Youth
Virginia’s Education and Training Voucher program provides up to $5,000 per year toward the cost of post-secondary education for eligible current and former foster youth.8Level Up Virginia. Foster Youth
On the FAFSA, if you were in foster care at any point after turning 13, you automatically qualify as an independent student for federal financial aid. Your eligibility is based on your own income, not a parent’s or guardian’s, which for most former foster youth translates into larger Pell Grant awards and better aid packages overall.
Before You Age Out
Whether you leave Fostering Futures at 19 or stay until 21, Virginia law requires a transition plan to be put together within 90 days before you’re discharged from foster care. The plan has to address housing support and your right to ask for housing services to be restored if you turned them down earlier.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-905.1:1 – Housing Services A good transition plan will also cover employment, education, healthcare, and the adults you can lean on after state services end.
Before you exit, get physical copies of your essential personal documents in your own hands: Social Security card, birth certificate, and a government-issued photo ID. These are the documents every landlord, employer, and college will ask for, and they’re much harder to track down once you no longer have a caseworker helping you work through the bureaucracy.