Vol. 13, No. 1• November 2008

North Carolina Needs Foster Families for Teens

Earlier this year the North Carolina Division of Social Services surveyed public child welfare agencies in our state about recruiting and retaining foster parents. Sixty-eight of North Carolina’s 100 county departments of social services responded.

One of the chief concerns they raised was the shortage of foster homes for teens. As a group, the 68 responding agencies said they would like to see about 1,200 additional foster families for adolescents.

Assessing the Need
On the one hand, this is not surprising if you consider that teens are disproportionately represented in residential placements in our state. For example, in state fiscal year 2006-07, 21% of youths age 13 to 17 were placed in group homes when they first entered DSS custody, compared with 6% of children age 6 to 12 and 1% of children age birth to 5.

Yet if you consider the number of homes and the number of youth in care, agencies’ desire for more homes makes less sense. At the end of February 2008 there were 10,543 children in DSS custody in North Carolina. That same month, our state had 7,129 licensed foster homes.
Looking at these numbers, it would seem that North Carolina has more than enough foster homes to care for every child in foster care, including teens. Why are agencies saying we need more?

Unused Homes
The desire for additional homes for teens makes more sense if one understands that not every foster family in North Carolina is currently being used.

This is something we have in common with other states. For example, in her study of administrative data on use of foster homes in Oregon, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, Gibbs (2005) found that in these states 20% of the foster parents provided between 60% and 72% of all foster care days. Gibbs’ finding is in line with the conclusion reached by Stukes Chipingu and Bent-Goodley (2004), who found that at any given time on a national level, one out of every three licensed foster homes is unused.

There are many factors that determine whether a foster home is used, including the number of children in the agency’s custody, the relationship between the foster family and the agency, the fit between the foster family’s skills and abilities and the needs of the children in care, and the foster family’s stated preferences.

This last factor is something over which foster parents have a great deal of influence. In general, the more restrictions you place on the type and number of children you are willing to care for, the longer you will wait for a placement. For example, if you limit yourself to infants, it may be quite some time before an infant is taken into custody.

While you are waiting for a placement, the children who are in care—and right now one out of three youths in foster care in North Carolina is over age 13—must be cared for by someone. For teens in particular this can mean placement in a group home, even though policy says children should be placed in the most family-like setting possible.

You Can Help
You became a foster or adoptive parent because you want to make a difference in the lives of children and families. Teens in foster care need you to take action on their behalf. Talk to other foster parents to make sure they are aware of the need for homes for teens. Take a moment to reflect on your own situation and stated preferences. Social workers need families that can accept and work with all of the children that come into care. So many of them are adolescents—won’t you consider opening your home to teens?

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A Teen’s Perspective
In our most recent writing contest we asked young people what they thought about the fact that some teens live in group homes simply because there aren’t enough foster families that will take teens. We also asked what they thought would change the minds of these reluctant families. Here’s the winning entry.

My name is Ariel, but most people call me Ari. I’m 16 years old and I’m proud to say I’m going to be a senior this year.

[Although I’m in foster care] I’m a regular teenager. I have lots of friends who are in foster care as well. We like to go to the mall and shop, go on dates to the movies, and talk on the phone. I love my friends.

No, my life is not perfect, and I’ve been through a lot. But I think that’s what makes me who I am today: young, talented, independent, smart, and sweet.

So why are foster parents so reluctant to take in teenagers like me? Since I can remember, teenagers in foster care have been talked about as being bad, disrespectful, out-of-control. All these words and many more have been used to describe us.

My opinion is not that foster parents are so reluctant to take us in, but that people have talked down about us so much that foster parents who want to take us in or give us a chance suddenly have a change of mind. So if people would stop giving us such a bad rap and stop dwelling on our weaknesses and look at our strengths, more people would be willing to take teenage foster children in their homes.

Ariel’s was awarded $100 for her first prize entry. Click here to read other contest entries.

Copyright � 2008 Jordan Institute for Families