The goal of Family Services is to protect Virginia’s adults and children from abuse and neglect as well as to promote and support the development of healthy families. There are multiple services within the Division of Family Services such as Child Protective Services (CPS), Adult Protective Services (APS), Adult Services (AS), In-Home Services, Foster Care, and Adoption. Each service strives to focus on engaging with families by identifying any needs while continually assessing safety, risk, and protective capacities.  

The Division’s programs are designed to address the needs of Virginia’s most vulnerable citizens and emphasize personal responsibility for safety, stability, and well-being, balanced with effective intervention, when necessary.

Child Protective Services is just one component on a continuum of family services in Virginia that values the strengths of families. CPS aims to identify abused and neglected children and provide services in an effort to protect children, preserve families, and prevent further maltreatment.

Adult Protective Services investigates reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults 60 years of age or older and incapacitated adults 18 or older. Adult Services provides services to enhance self-sufficiency and improve quality of life. In-Home services play an integral role in targeting resources and services that focus on family engagement to prevent entry into foster care and help children remain safely in their homes.

Virginia Adult Protective Services has opened a reporting portal for individuals to report cases of suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation. It is not intended for emergency situations. 

Foster Care is intended to be a temporary rather than a long-term solution. This program focuses on the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in foster care while offering services that are family-focused and child-centered. Resource Family is a program responsible for the development, recruitment, and support activities for foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers in Virginia to promote viable family-based placement options for children in foster care. Adoption is a social and legal process; it provides permanent, safe, and loving homes for children when parental responsibilities from birth/legal parents transferred to adoptive parents.