Safety NACC Foster Program

The Safety NACC Foster Program aims to help keep pet-owning families together in times of crisis and financial hardship by building community partnerships and expanding services to help families in need.

Our new Safety NACC Foster Program helps pet owners in times of crisis when they need assistance in keeping their pets, including when they’re facing eviction, domestic violence, rehabilitation, hospitalization, arrest, or loss of housing. Previously, owners would come to the shelter as their last resort, feeling like the only thing that they could do is to give up their beloved pet. Now, thanks to the Safety NACC Foster Program, Norfolk Animal Care Center can match up pets with foster families in the Hampton Roads area and give owners the time that they need to address their hardship and keep their families together.

This program was made possible in part due to NACC participating in Maddie’s Nationwide Fostering Study, which is run by Virginia Tech and Arizona State University. As part of the study, shelters receive extensive training on how to successfully implement and manage safety net fostering programs along with support for shelter staff that are directly assisting pet-owning families that are experiencing hardship. Together with the research team, NACC will collect data about their Safety NACC Foster Program, which will allow for a better understanding of the needs of our pet-owning community and contributing to innovative, evidence-based practices in animal sheltering that are keeping people and their pets together.

The Norfolk Animal Care Center is actively seeking foster families to participate in this program. The Safety NACC Foster Program is only made possible through the generosity of our foster network and available foster homes. Safety net fostering for pet owners experiencing crisis is an incredible way to directly support the current needs of the Norfolk community. Foster families receive weekly check-ins with the Safety NACC Foster team to ensure they are supported in their safety net fostering experience. The Norfolk Animal Care Center provides all the necessary supplies for the care of fostered pets, and fostering commitments range from 30-90 days. Pet owners and their foster families do not communicate with each other during the program, and instead, all communication along with program coordination is conducted by Safety NACC Foster team members. Those interested in fostering as part of this program may sign up using the foster application on our website. Please allow 48-72 hours for a foster coordinator to respond to your inquiry.

Please call 757-441-5505 or email us at fosternacc@norfolk.gov for more information on how enroll in the program or become a foster for animals in need.