Friends of Foster Care urges expanded tutoring, enrichment and post‑care support for Portsmouth youth

Audra Bullock, founder and CEO of Friends of Foster Care, told the Portsmouth City Council at its May 27 work session that her nonprofit provides one‑on‑one tutoring, college and career coaching, YMCA memberships, enrichment activities and post‑care support to young people who have been in foster care and asked the city and partner agencies to increase referrals and coordination.

The request came as Bullock described national and state outcome gaps for youth with child welfare involvement and presented local program results and funding needs. "We serve 60 youth approximately a year in foster care," Bullock said, describing tutoring as the organization's largest program. She told council members the group provides services free to families and social‑service agencies and follows youth up to age 26 when they have aged out of the system.

Bullock framed the need with data she attributed to state and national sources: she said there are about 5,600 children in foster care in Virginia and that each year roughly 7,000 to 7,500 children pass in and out of the system statewide. She reported that 48 youth were currently in care in the wider service area she described and that 12 of the youth the group serves live in Portsmouth. She said Friends of Foster Care serves roughly 60 youth a year and that, since the organization's founding, it has invested about $500,000 in direct services including roughly $300,000 for tutoring, close to $30,000 for camp and emergency needs, and about $100,000 in gifts.

Bullock described the program model as trauma‑informed and data driven: tutors are licensed or retired teachers who work in‑home and on a referral basis; the group tracks persistence and academic outcomes and provides small incentives tied to session attendance. "Our services are completely free. Completely free," she said. Bullock said program metrics include a 90 percent persistence rate for students who begin tutoring, about 85 percent pass rates in tutored classes last year, and 100 percent on‑time or early graduation for seniors in the most recent academic year in the tutoring program.

Council members asked about partnerships and service gaps. Councilwoman Thomas asked whether Friends of Foster Care works with Portsmouth Public Schools; Bullock said some children the organization serves attend Portsmouth schools and that the group partners with school systems on referrals and individualized education plan (IEP) involvement. Councilman Hugo suggested connections to workforce and community coalition groups such as Portsmouth at Work and Portsmouth United; Bullock said she did not currently work with Portsmouth at Work and welcomed referrals. Hugo also asked about other local foster‑care providers; Bullock described a broad "ecosystem" of providers and said Friends of Foster Care partners with many agencies, including the Up Center and CASA, and operates under memoranda of understanding with several localities.

Council members and staff described possible next steps. Several members offered to share contact information for local foundations and city staff to explore partnerships and funding. Bullock asked the council and city agencies to refer children in need of tutoring and transitional services and to consider the organization as a partner for prevention work to keep children from entering foster care.

No formal motions or votes were taken on the presentation. The discussion was recorded as a briefing and a request for follow‑up contacts and referrals from the council and city staff.