More Foster Parents Needed Across the United States

There is a growing need for foster parents in the United States, according to news reports from different areas. More children are said to be entering the foster care system.

The Star Tribune reported that in Minnesota, there has been a "dramatic increase" in children placed in foster care beginning two years ago. The report said that there has been a 10 percent increase in foster-care providers since 2011 but that has not been enough to keep up with the increasing children that have been put in foster care. Insufficient payment for foster parents is reportedly an issue. 

Need for foster parents rises https://t.co/82HFHJr2yO pic.twitter.com/BOlYsr4REJ

— Sherri Yeatts (@scyeatts) June 20, 2016

Importance Of Foster Parents

Foster parents are the "core of the child welfare system," according to Family Support Services CEO Lee Kaywork, as per The Florida Times Union's report. Family Support Services is recruiting more foster parents. It is the main agency for foster care, adoption and family preservation in the counties of Duval and Nassau in Jacksonville, Florida.

Family Support Services is reportedly trying to license 70 new foster homes annually. The ideal is said to be 70 more foster homes to cater to more children in the foster care system. Kaywork said that that there is an average of 300 children monthly who are in foster care in the two counties they work in.

Kaywork and his wife themselves are said to have been foster parents for 35 children over several years and adopted two of them. The Union's report said that foster care occurs when children are taken away from their homes for a set period in the meantime due to neglect, abuse, safety issues or family crises.

Foster Parenting Is A Challenge

WDBJ7 reported that in Roanoke, Virginia, there has been difficulty in finding foster care parents for children. Foster children were said to be coming in to Roanoke from all over the state of Virginia.

"And I think the need for foster parents is great, but I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's a tough, tough, tough job," Polly Meador, foster parent, was quoted as saying. Meador and her husband have been foster parents to around 40 children since 2003.

Would you be willing to be a foster parent? Why or why not? Share your thoughts below.