Founded in 1973 in Staunton, Virginia, People Places has been a leader in the development of Treatment Foster Care (TFC) for more than 50 years. Our mission began with a simple but powerful goal: to help children remain in their communities and thrive in safe, nurturing family environments rather than institutional settings. From the beginning, we have provided the training, resources, and ongoing support needed to help children, families, and caregivers succeed.
As a private, nonprofit organization, People Places serves children and families throughout Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Staunton, and surrounding communities. Our comprehensive services include foster care, adoption, counseling, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and community-based family mentoring. Through every program, we remain committed to delivering high-quality, trauma-informed care with compassionate, experienced professional staff who understand the challenges children and families face.
At the heart of our work is the belief that meaningful, supportive relationships can change lives. We are dedicated to helping children achieve safety, stability, and permanency while strengthening families and creating opportunities for lasting success. Our decades of experience, combined with a commitment to innovation and continuous improvement, allow us to make a lasting impact in the communities we serve.
People Places believes that every child deserves a safe, caring, and teaching relationship. We proudly provide foster care certification for individuals and couples living within approximately one hour of our office locations. While our primary goal is to preserve and reunify families whenever possible, there is also a critical need for foster-to-adopt families. As a licensed child placing agency, we are equipped to guide families through both the foster care and adoption processes.
On any given day, an estimated 330,000 to 400,000 children are in foster care across the United States, including approximately 4,800 to 5,000 children in Virginia. These children need safe, supportive homes and caring adults who are willing to make a difference.
You can be that difference. Contact People Places today to learn how you can help a child find safety, stability, and hope.
Our Vision
Inspiring hope for children and families.
Our Mission
To foster resilience in children and families so they can thrive.
Organizational Core Values
- Acceptance. We treat all individuals with compassion and kindness and practice acceptance of a person exactly as they are.
- Collaboration. We actively engage customers, families and partners in our work to improve outcomes and long-term success.
- Innovation. We embrace on-going creativity, change, exploration and implementation of data-informed ideas.
- Integrity. We act with honesty, transparency and accountability to build trust and achieve results.
National Accreditation
People Places is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and is committed to maintaining the highest standards of service and care. Through a culture of continuous quality improvement, we regularly evaluate our programs and outcomes, including providing a public dashboard on our website that offers transparent, real-time program performance and success data.
Pygmalion School
Established in 1976 to support the People Places treatment foster care program, this private special education day school expanded to provide educational services to children with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, emotional disabilities, specific learning disabilities, and other health impairments for 47 years before closing its doors in 2023. Contact our office for records or any other information.
