Document Type
Professional Plan Capstone
Original Publication Date
2025
Client
CORAL Housing
Location
Virginia
Date of Submission
April 2025
Abstract
As of 2024, Virginia’s Central Region continues to produce one of the highest rates of foster care emancipations in the state, despite having minimal infrastructure to support young adults transitioning out of care. Each year, dozens of foster youth in the region age out of the system without reunification, adoption, or other forms of permanency, disproportionately entering adulthood without the stability of housing, employment, or accessible services. Although permanent supportive housing (PSH) has emerged as a nationally validated model for housing and service integration, few PSH developments in Virginia are designed specifically for aged-out foster youth or their families.
This study investigates how a mixed-use, trauma-informed PSH model can be implemented in Central Virginia to address this policy gap. Conducted on behalf of CORAL Housing, the plan combines demographic, spatial, and policy analysis to assess regional housing capacity, identify service gaps, and evaluate the siting potential for PSH in localities including Petersburg, Richmond, and Dinwiddie County. A weighted overlay GIS analysis was used to assess parcel-level suitability for PSH development, incorporating zoning, affordability, and proximity to transit and services.
This plan outlines a strategic, place-based approach to permanent supportive housing development that responds directly to the lived realities of foster care-impacted youth. It provides a replicable planning framework for siting, funding, and programming PSH developments that align with both human needs and regulatory feasibility. By combining social work insights with planning methodologies, the plan proposes a path forward to address systemic housing instability among Virginia’s most vulnerable young adults.
Rights
© Matthew Snow
Is Part Of
Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects
Recommended Citation
Snow, M. (2025). The permanent supportive housing of Central Virginia’s aged out foster youths: A plan to increase regional capacity, fill gaps in service, and identify potential sites. Virginia Commonwealth University. https://[insert-URL-here]
Included in
Place and Environment Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Social Policy Commons, Social Welfare Commons, Social Work Commons, Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons, Urban Studies Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons
