According to the Jefferson County Foster Children's Fund, there are between 650 and 800 children in foster care at any given time in the county. The system is under strain, the fund's president Theresa Robson tells KMOX.
Robson joined Total Information AM on Thursday to talk about the need for more foster parents in Jefferson County. Part of the reason there's a shortage is the issue of addiction in Jefferson County.
"A big part of it is because of the opioid epidemic — that is definitely impacting it, because it's harder to get those families to a point that they can have their children come back home if they're dealing with that kind of addiction," Robson said. "But also mental health issues play a big part in that, as well as poverty."
Robson said that Jefferson County has about 150 foster homes and about 300 relative or kinship homes. Kinship homes, she explained, can be a kid's favorite dance teacher or coach, a neighbor, or a family member.
"So we've really got an overwhelming number of those kinds of situations. But those people are being licensed specifically for a child. So even though we've got those homes, we can't add other kids to their homes," she said. "And so the number of actual licensed foster homes, I think, has seen some decline over the last several years, probably partially due to COVID and partially due to finances."
Robson added that the Children's Division is "notoriously understaffed," which als contributes to the issue. Hear more about Jefferson County's need for foster parents on Total Information AM:
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