Our Difference: Experience and Passion
The Up Center is proud to be a premier foster care agency in Hampton Roads. For over 35 years, we’ve been helping children and families, which provides us with a deep understanding of how trauma impacts children and how important stability is for their growth. Child welfare has undergone numerous changes over the decades, but one thing stays the same: every child deserves to feel safe, loved, and supported.
Foster care is never easy—for the children who come into care, for the parents who hope to be reunited with them, and for the families who step forward to foster.
But The Up Center helps make this journey filled with stability and hope. Research shows that children who are moved from home to home suffer trauma just as severe as the initial removal from their birth families. We never forget that. Every decision we make is about preventing that kind of instability. Our process has changed over the years to reflect new insights into child development, trauma-informed care, and the changing needs of families. What we’ve built is a process that truly works—for both the children and the families who open their homes to them.
Why Families Choose The Up Center
Families who foster with The Up Center often tell us they feel like we’re a true partner. We walk alongside them every step of the way, providing resources, guidance, and encouragement. In 2025, we’re proud to share that 89% of our foster placements remained stable. That’s a remarkable number in child welfare, and it’s proof that our approach works. Children thrive when placements are stable, and families feel more confident when they know we’re behind them.
Our Team Makes a Significant Difference
Knowledgeable, engaged, and committed child welfare professionals are vital to providing the quality support system that children and families need to thrive. We know how deeply trauma can affect a child, and we are passionately dedicated to helping them heal by finding the stability of a loving home. Each team member has worked with children and families at The Up Center for more than 14 years on average—and we’ll be here to support you every step of the way on your foster care journey.
Our agency is distinguished by qualities that set us apart from other foster care providers, and we’d like to share them with you.
Foster Parent Support:
We’re with you every step of the way.
We prepare, guide, and support families so that children experience the fewest possible disruptions in care. As a foster parent, you’ll always have support—every step of the way. From 24/7 on-call help to training, supervision, and dedicated staff, we ensure you never face challenges without guidance or care. No question is too small, and no concern is ever ignored. We’re here to lift you, listen, and walk beside you—because fostering is a team effort, and you’re never in it alone. Our training is very supportive, because we understand the challenges of being a foster parent. Before you’re certified, you’ll complete 30 hours of training within 90 days. Our training includes:
Trauma-informed parenting strategies . Supporting children with learning delays or special education needs . Navigating behavioral challenges . Building safe and nurturing home environments
But our training doesn’t stop there. We offer ongoing workshops throughout the year on topics like school advocacy, discipline strategies, and understanding mental health needs. We also make sure your home is ready and safe. That means ensuring there are no hazards, confirming you’re in good physical health, and preparing you for the realities of fostering. Our process ensures that when a child walks through your door, you feel fully prepared.
Support Beyond Training:
Wrap Around Care
Wrap around means you are supported from all sides. You’ll have access to clinicians, case managers, peer support groups, and more. We’re here to help you manage transitions, build trust, and support a child’s emotional and educational needs. Every child has a case manager and social worker from the city. City social workers typically visit the home every 1-2 months. The Up Center case manager visits your home as often as needed, whether it’s weekly or every other week (depending on the needs of the child and your family). This dual support system makes sure that both the child’s needs and your needs as a foster family are being met.
Our staff helps with everything—from making sure the child is enrolled in school to coordinating medical and dental care. Having this level of support is one of the greatest benefits of working with a licensed Child Placing Agency like The Up Center.
Financial Support:
Get paid to make a difference
We know fostering isn’t just an emotional commitment—it’s also a financial one. That’s why foster families receive a monthly stipend to help cover the expenses of caring for a child. Many children arrive in foster care with very few belongings. We help families get set up by assisting with clothing, school supplies, and other immediate needs. We also rely on community support. Donated gift cards go directly to foster children and families, making those first days and weeks easier for everyone. We know that raising children comes with real costs—food, clothing, school supplies, and more. This support is not considered income and should not affect your taxes. It’s simply meant to ease the financial burden, so you can focus on what matters most: giving a child a safe, loving, and stable home. You’re not expected to do it alone—and you won’t have to.
First Placement, Last Placement
At the Up Center, we like to say, “First Placement, Last Placement”. That means when a child enters one of our foster homes, our goal is for them to remain there until they are either reunited with their family or find a permanent home. Our philosophy is simple: we want every placement to be the right one for you and the child from the start. When children come into foster care, we often don’t know everything about them right away. But we do know our families well. That knowledge makes all the difference in making the best possible match.
It’s why we spend a lot of time getting to know our foster families…we don’t just check boxes on a form. We sit down with you and really learn who you are—your parenting style, your family’s strengths, your goals, even how you were parented yourself. For example, we ask:
- How do you envision supporting a child in your home?
- What age range do you feel most comfortable with?
- What challenges do you feel prepared to handle?
This process helps us to carefully match children with families. Some families are incredible with teens, others shine with younger kids, and others can foster sibling groups. By focusing on strengths, we reduce the risk of placement disruptions.
Preventing Placement Disruption
Placement disruptions can cause emotional scars for children, so we work hard to prevent them. By combining these steps, we create an environment where children can feel secure and families feel confident. Here’s what we do:
We take the time to learn about your household, your parenting philosophy, and your environment.
We make sure your home is safe, with background checks, safety inspections, and attention to things like pools, animals, or weapons.
Families complete a minimum of 30 hours of training before certification. This includes group sessions, online learning, and personalized plans.
Our home placement supervisors know our families personally and visit regularly to provide support.
Final thoughts
Foster care is temporary
One thing we always emphasize is that foster care is meant to be temporary. Children may stay in your home for one night, a few months, or sometimes several years. But the ultimate goal is reunification with their parents or another biological family member whenever possible. We know this can be hard for foster parents. It takes courage to love a child fully, even knowing they may leave. That’s why we prepare our families for this reality and support them emotionally every step of the way.
We act in the best interest of the child
At the heart of everything we do is the best interest of the child. Sometimes this means going above and beyond. But we are committed to doing whatever it takes to help children heal and thrive. So we always:
- Match a child with the right family from the start
- Provide trauma-informed care
- Make sure parents can visit whenever possible
- Ensure children receive every recommended service they need
We sincerely appreciate your interest in becoming a foster parent.
Foster care changes lives—both for the children who need safe, loving homes and for the families who welcome them. At The Up Center, our mission is to make sure that journey is filled with stability, healing, and hope. With more than 75 years of experience, comprehensive training programs, and a deep commitment to trauma-informed care, we are proud to be a premier foster care agency in Hampton Roads.
If you’ve ever thought about fostering, we’d love to walk this path with you. Together, we can give children what they need most: a safe home, a caring family, and a brighter future.
Ready to make the leap?
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