Child care specialist faces embezzlement charges in Loudoun County

By Hugh Garbrick
May 11, 2023 | 7:30 AM

A woman employed by the Loudoun County Department of Family Services has been charged with two counts of embezzlement tied to her work, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

Theresa A. Smith, of Haymarket, Virginia, was charged with embezzling approximately $29,000 from the Child Subsidy Program during her time as a child care specialist with the Loudoun County Department of Family Services (DFS).

The sheriff’s office said Smith’s arrest came Wednesday after investigators examined almost a year of Smith’s actions and concluded that she embezzled thousands of dollars from DFS’ child subsidy program.

Investigators found 550 hours were fraudulently billed to the county government between November 2021 and October 2022, according to the sheriff’s office.

Smith, who surrendered at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, was released on an unsecured bond of $5,000.

Breaking the silence around suicide: A Virginia mother shares thoughts on prevention

By Kate Ryan
September 1, 2026 | 4:22 AM

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and Betsy Stephenson, an Alexandria, Virginia, resident and a mother who lost her son to suicide, wants people to talk about it. "By not talking about suicide, we are not going to make it go away. In fact, I think that we could inadvertently give it a little more power than it deserves," she told WTOP. One of the things that Stephenson wants families to know is that people who are struggling can appear to be doing well. "You can be very high-functioning as a depressed person or an anxious person," she said. "You can be connected socially. You can be doing well at school or work. You can be making plans, smiling, laughing, engaged, but still be struggling deeply, you know, cosmically, inside."

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