Welcome to the Northern Virginia Office of Voices for Virginia's Children!
The Northern Virginia office of Voices for Virginia's Children was established in March 2006. The goal of the office is to raise the particular concerns of children in Northern Virginia to a statewide audience and to increase the total power of those advocating for children in the Commonwealth. We accomplish this by:
Immigration and Children:
The Opportunities and Challenges of a Diverse Community
The population of immigrant children is growing throughout Virginia (16% of Virginia’s children live in immigrant families) and Northern Virginia stands out as the area of the state with the largest share of children living in immigrant families (39%). With that in mind, Northern Virginia is particularly situated to benefit from the development of a diverse, multi-lingual and well educated workforce. Policy makers and decision makers in Northern Virginia, given the make-up of the population in the region, will be leading the way in developing policies and programs that meet the needs of a diverse group of children and take full advantage of their strengths, assets, and potential contributions to our community.
Over the past two years, Voices for Virginia's Children has become a key partner with stakeholders in Northern Virginia advocating so that children in immigrant families have access to important services. On the heels of a successful forum to discuss children in immigrant families in May 2007, Voices produced a “Call to Action” document and a data brief about children in immigrant families in Northern Virginia; worked with partners from the Immigrant Workgroup of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington to monitor and react to legislation that was proposed in the General Assembly; and co-sponsored an Arlington READS program focused on immigrant youth.
To learn more about the Northern Virginia Initiative, please contact:
Kathy May
Director of Northern Virginia Office
703-955-6325
kmay@vakids.org
