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This will not come as any shock to anyone, but the economy stinks. Everyone is trying to make ends meet with a very uncertain future. Most people reading this blog have probably felt it in their own homes. As the weather grows colder here in Wisconsin, my husband and I are looking for ways to reduce our heating costs since fuel oil prices nearly match the gas prices at the pumps. This means a big hit to our budget each month.
Foster families are just like regular families. The economy is hurting them as well. Expenses for their foster children are rising and foster care subsidy payments do not increase with the increase in costs. This means that foster parents have to make the subsidy stretch even further.
What does this mean for foster children? It means that there may be fewer foster homes. If parents are already having a hard time making their money stretch with the kids they have in their home, are they going to bring even more in? Chances are highly unlikely. A parent knows how much it realistically costs to raise a child and looking at a $300 or $400 subsidy payment isn’t going to give a potential parent much motivation.
Some foster homes may decide not to renew their license. Again, making that money stretch may be hard already and if agencies are unable to recruit more families it’s going to mean overcrowded foster homes and kids who aren’t getting the best attention and care possible. I’m not faulting the foster parents by any means. It’s just reality. There are only so many hours in the day and with all that foster parents have to do for their kids there isn’t always enough time. There are also safety issues involved with having several traumatized children in a home. Foster parents need to make sure they keep everyone in their home safe. Overcrowding doesn’t always make this possible as much as a parent tries.
A shortage of foster homes can also leading to kids being placed in homes that may not be the best match for them either in the skill level of the foster parents, or in the matches with other kids in the house. Instead kids will be placed in a home that is available, even if it’s not the best option.
It probably won’t come as a shock to anyone that instances of child abuse increase with a poor economy. Parents are stressed, some may have lost jobs and if there is not enough to pay the bills or buy food, you may see an increase in neglect and abuse. This means more kids entering the foster care system and taxing already overworked foster homes and social workers.
For our kids, something needs to give in regards to the economy. No matter how you look it, it’s a bad deal for our kids.
I really have to agree with you about something needing to be done with the economy for the children who are tangled up in “the system”. However, the children that are in the system are better off than those children that need to be in the system and aren’t. Something also needs to be done for them.