'Critical' shortage of foster homes in Jackson

“The goal is to keep them within the county, but sometimes we have to go outside the county to place children,” Flynn said. “They could be as far away as Savannah.”

Most of the kids under the supervision of the county are housed outside. Some are in group homes, where the cost is five times as expensive as foster care. Additionally, case workers are expected to visit each child monthly, so having children located outside of the county runs up the cost and taxes the ability of the caseworkers.

But the real concern is for children. The scarcity of foster homes means children are further removed from their families. It also means that often siblings are separated, often by a significant distance.
“In our region, Jackson is one of the most struggling families,” Flynn conceded.

The Georgia Department of Family and Children Services is seeking foster and adoptive parents, and has two websites offering information about children waiting for a permanent or temporary home.
The websites are: www.dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov/photolisting and www.wednesdayschildga.com.

Officials met recently to discuss recruiting, specifically for Jackson County.

“Placement for all of our kids would be a huge goal,” Flynn said. “Right now if we could have 25 homes, that would be a huge help.”

What DFCS wants to do is to get people to just consider the possibility. Obstacles to becoming foster parents include the time —parents must take a 20-hour impact class. Another problem is, “sometimes our teenagers kind of scare people — they have the mindset that it’s hard to get love back from them,” Flynn explained.

She noted that most foster parents will accept only children 10 and under, so the need is especially critical for foster homes for older children.

Most people who eventually become foster parents do so because they’ve become acquainted with someone who is a foster parent or have been in a foster family themselves.

The average length of stay for a child in a foster home is 15 months, according to Flynn. Prospective parents can put parameters on the kinds of children they’re willing to accept in the areas of gender, race and age. A family can have up to six foster children.

The goal is to get foster children back with their birth families — whether with the parents, grandparents or members of the extended family. But when that’s not possible and the parents’ rights are terminated, those children can become eligible for adoption.

For additional information on becoming a foster or adoptive parent, call 1-877-210-KIDS or contact the Jackson County Department of Family and Children Services and speak with a resource developer.