DCHS’s child and family-serving staff are dedicated to supporting the community’s critical needs in children's mental health services, drug and alcohol prevention and treatment, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, pregnancy prevention, youth development, child abuse prevention, early intervention for toddlers, and information about childcare services.

The Domestic Violence Program (DVP) began monthly virtual meetings with their volunteers to review any changes in policies and procedures and to support volunteers in making individualized safety plans with survivors.  Each meeting focused on a specific case study and addressed how staff handled the client’s concerns.  Shown left, Alexandria City Hall was lit in purple for domestic violence awareness month.

In Child & Family Behavioral Health Services the level of acuity of youth seen increased significantly, as evidenced by a 93% increase in the number of youth and families engaged in services to support placement in residential treatment - from 29 youth in FY22 to 59 youth in FY23. The increase is due, in part, to youth opioid use. The team shifted to prioritize response to this need; outpatient therapists completed assessments to determine medical necessity and intensive care coordinators partnered with family support partners to ensure access and support quality care even while there were limited facilities to meet the needs.

Child Protective Services (CPS) achieved a 100% success rate for absence of recurring abuse of children at the end of FY23. This indicates that over the previous two years, 100% of children with a previous founded disposition of abuse/neglect who received services from CPS did not experience another finding of maltreatment. The state goal is 94.6%. CPS also conducted 10 child abuse prevention trainings including mandated reporting and CPS procedures, educating 305 community members.

The Fund for Alexandria’s Child, supported by an advisory council of volunteers, raised over nearly $70,000 for children in foster care and those at risk of out-of- home placement to participate in activities that help to normalize their lives, such as athletic teams, dance classes, holiday gift sharing, prom, graduation celebrations and transportation to jobs and medical appointments.

The Child Welfare Services Holiday Sharing Program was supported by 309 individuals and groups who sponsored 426 families with 960 children, as well as 133 older adults or adults with disabilities, and 87 children and teenagers in foster care by providing them with gifts and gift cards for the holiday season.

The LGBTQ+ program utilized funding from the Virginia Department of Health to initiate a statewide online weekly support group for parents/caregivers of LGBTQ+ children and youth. The program also continued to hold its annual Pride Fair in Market Square outside of Alexandria City Hall. To learn more about work done in the City in support of LGBTQ+ services, see the ARPA section.

The Youth Development Team focused on youth safety and resilience to decrease violence among youth and increase positive youth engagement. They released a report with recommendations, including: establishing strong support systems at school, using a variety of strategies to reach young people and ensure that they are aware of resources and programs, building effective youth-adult partnerships by providing adults with  training and providing youth with opportunities to participate in collaborative decision-making with adults and critically listening and engaging with youth ideas. Newly hired Youth Ambassadors, supported by the newly hired Youth Engagement Specialist, began reviewing the recommendations to make them actionable.

The 2025 Children and Youth Community Plan (CYCP) completed its second year of implementation. To engage the public on the progress of the CYCP, six “Report Cards” and an Annual CYCP Progress Report were published in FY23​. Each Report Card helps tell a unique story about Alexandria’s children and youth. They include a result that the community is trying to achieve, data that illustrates how the community is doing, specific actions taken to improve the trend, the collaborators and measurements to show positive impact.

Learn more about services for children, youth and family and domestic violence and sexual assault programs, the CYCP monthly report cards and the Trauma-Informed Community Network, RAISE.