Number of Children in Foster Care Up by 20 Percent, While Number of Licensed Foster Care Homes Down by 38 Percent
While the number of children living in foster care in Louisiana has increased by more than 20 percent in the last three years, the number of certified foster homes has actually declined by nearly 38 percent during the same period. The dramatic gap between needs and available resources serves as the impetus for a new, statewide public awareness campaign designed to recruit and retain foster parents in Louisiana. Launched in August 2007, the campaign, “Today’s Foster Care: Your Love Will Make All The Difference In Their World” is also intended to bolster support for recruitment initiatives.
“Substantial commitment by the State of Louisiana, the federal government and private funding sources have improved children’s services,” said Marketa Garner Gautreau, assistant secretary for the Office of Community Services (OCS) at The Department of Social Services for the State of Louisiana. “As a result, we are now working to streamline the training and certification process for new foster parents, as well as improve community based services to support the 5,173 children currently living in foster care and their foster parents. However, much work remains to provide the services for our most vulnerable children and families. Trained, qualified and dedicated foster parents are at the core of a well functioning child welfare system.
“Louisiana’s foster parents have continually demonstrated their dedication to Louisiana’s children, most recently during our time of greatest need. Their commitment and courage was exemplified during and after the evacuation of some 2,500 foster children as a result of the 2005 hurricanes. Not only were no foster children lost in an unprecedented evacuation of Louisiana citizens to practically every state in the union, but placements were maintained, services continued to be secured, and contacts with birth families were preserved. Unfortunately, recovery is slower than expected, which has increased the stress and hardship for many communities and foster parents,” Gautreau explained.
In fact, the decline in foster homes is actually understated because a substantial number of homes within the greater New Orleans area are considered uninhabitable due to storm damage even though they previously were classified in the state’s information system as open or active. “But the need for services and foster homes is everywhere in the state,” she noted.
Specifically, in July 2004, there were 4,284 children living in foster care in Louisiana. In July 2007, there were 5,152 children living in foster care. This is in direct contrast to the 3,894 foster homes certified statewide as of July 2004 and the mere 2,428 such homes as of July 2007. In addition, the greater New Orleans area lost more than 50 percent of its approved foster homes between June 2003 and January 2007.
The “Today’s Foster Care” campaign will feature TV, radio and print advertising, direct mail and public relations initiatives. A central figure in the campaign is Darryl McDaniel or “DMC” of Run: DMC, who learned at the age of 35 that he was adopted. Since that time, he has devoted himself to helping children in foster care and adopted children though THE FELIX ORGANIZATION/ Adoptees For Children, which he co-founded in 2006 with Sheila Jaffe, the casting director of "The Sopranos" and "Entourage." THE FELIX ORGANIZATION/Adoptees for Children provides opportunities and new experiences that enrich the lives of children growing up without parents.
The state’s foster parent recruitment and retention campaign is part of the Department of Social Services’ LIFTS initiatives. LIFTS -- Louisiana Leading Innovations for Family Transformation and Safety -- is a series of initiatives to strengthen families and to ensure children with safe, permanent solutions. Louisiana LIFTS reflects OCS’ unyielding goal of reaching higher to ensure a family-focused and community-based system of care for Louisiana’s most vulnerable children. Too many of Louisiana’s children are still coming into foster care because their communities do not have the programs and services needed to achieve more permanent outcomes.