Shenandoah Valley Kids First, established in 2021, is a Virginia registered 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the welfare of at-risk children throughout the Shenandoah Valley.

Our Vision
Best outcomes are the only acceptable outcomes for children in the Shenandoah Valley.

Our Mission
We envision a future where the interests of all at-risk children are exclusive in consideration of guardianship; pressing threats to and the best possible outcomes in the interests of any child should be primary factors for determining custody arrangements. Outmoded biases in favor of the rights of biological parents without regard for their competence as care-givers is a problem and we will find innovative, non-traditional ways to overcome these predilections on a case-by-case basis.

Our Story

In October of 2021, an 18-month-old special needs infant was taken from a caring foster environment and returned to abusive biological parents.

Those of us with knowledge of this event were shocked and saddened, but our initial grief gave way to a desire for understanding.  When clarity of purpose was not forthcoming, we were compelled, by outrage, to action.

This is the story of Shenandoah Valley Kids First.

The pattern is all too familiar: a young and economically disadvantaged single mother with a history of substance abuse gives birth to an infant who manifests multiple symptoms of poor prenatal care.  Medical science can alleviate the physiological challenges (including significant neurological issues) but the environment this child is thrust into is fraught with peril: a mother and father both too young and too distracted to provide proper parental care, much less exercise adequate judgement for the constructive support of an infant with developmental challenges.

Allegations of abuse from concerned medical advisors, social services workers and even close relations followed this child for his first year of life, until finally a guardian was identified one dark night in April of 2021 when two bones in the baby’s forearm were broken as the result of an injury which was allegedly caused by one of his parents.  The child was allowed 6 uninterrupted months of love, care, attention and prescribed therapy to address the spectrum of special needs which grew from the baby’s attempt to simply live, develop, and grow.

Until a deep and profound flaw in the legal system allowed the infant’s parents to assert their rights to resume custody.  The infant was returned to the biological parents in late October of 2021.

Shenandoah Valley Kids First held its first meeting in December of that same year.

8 desparate people with no prior experience in social services or at-risk intervention, we met at a fast food restaurant and decided at that moment to act.  We self-funded our own incorporation as a not-for-profit entity in Virginia.  We assigned roles and responsibilities as part of our organizational development and we brainstormed for solutions to help this single infant while we pledged to build a platform to help all children in similar circumstances.

Come what may, we were bound and determined to make the public aware of children in our community who are in peril and cannot be rescued because of a singular interpretation of parental rights that supersedes the rights of a child to be free from harm or fear.  Virginia is unique in this context, for no other state finds sufficient precedent or legal interpretation that the physical and emotional welfare of a child cannot effectively serve a narrowly tailored and compelling state interest sufficient to set aside the constitutional right of biological parents to dictate how their children are raised.

Even today in Virginia, parents with a documented history of neglect, abuse and disregard their own children are granted custody simply as a matter of law.  Shenandoah Valley Kids First will make this end.

Legal

“The relationship between a parent and child is a constitutionally protected liberty interest under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

This was the opinion of the Virginia Supreme Court in L.F. v. Breit, 736 SE 2d 711 – Va: Supreme Court (2013) – the indisputable right of a biological parent to a relationship with their child as a function of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

But does this mean that the biological parent has an absolute right to custody of that child even in the face of compelling evidence that the welfare of that child is in jeopardy? 

Shenandoah Valley Kids First believes that this concept under law must be challenged in both public opinion and in the court system.  We believe that children have a right to expect to be separated from an abusive household regardless of the prevailing rights of the biological parents under the Due Process Clause of the Constitution.

We promote:

-Advocating for children and their guardians in the Shenandoah Valley area
-Ensuring that regulatory organizations are held accountable for decisions made regarding the custody of children
-Assisting parents and guardians with legal support in the pursuit of just and equitable outcomes for at-risk children
-Conducting oversight during investigations of alleged child abuse and neglect 

Please contact us to advise about any at-risk children whom you would like to see addressed; we are small but growing and we will never refuse to try and help!

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Put children first, any time, all the time. Thanks!