How To Fix the Foster Care System

As you likely know, our state is in the midst of a foster care crisis. As one who is considered an international and leading expert in parenting and foster care, and director of The Foster Care Institute, I am most grateful for your story and how you are bringing much needed awareness to this important issue.

So, how do we fix a broken system?

I have spoken on this topic across the globe. Unfortunately, it is not a “quick fix” so to speak. To begin with, there are more children being placed into the foster care system (mainly due to the opioid crisis gripping our nation), yet at the same time, there are less foster parents.

Foster care agencies need to revise the way they recruit foster parents, and more important, retain them (as the average foster parent quits after 18 -24 months).

Along with that, public schools need to have better resources and training regarding helping children in foster care (as only 55 percent of children in foster care will graduate from high school.)

Along with that, foster care agencies and child welfare organizations need to reach out to faith based organizations in their communities, asking them for help. To be sure, faith based groups have tremendous opportunities to help not just the child, but the foster parent and birth parent, in a variety of ways.

Indeed, these are just a few ways to fix the foster care system. There are more, and I would be happy to share them with you.

If I can be a source or help with any future stories you write, whether on this topic, or that of foster care, adoption, child sex trafficking, child welfare, opioid crisis, etc, please do not hesitate to contact me, 706-318-9225. I am here to serve.