Economy hurting Foster Children

Economy Causes More Children To Need Foster Care

POSTED: 5:27 pm EDT March 19, 2009
UPDATED: 5:46 pm EDT March 19, 2009

CINCINNATI — In what may be a heartbreaking sign of the economic recession, more children are turning up in the foster care system and fewer families are willing to take them in. 

Lighthouse Youth Services said it has seen an increase in the number of children who need foster homes. The group blames the economy. 

“Maybe they can’t pay their Duke Energy bill. Maybe they don’t have food to feed everybody in their household, so it results in some issues that cause children to get in the system,” said Lighthouse’s Bonita Campbell. 

According to Brian Gregg of Hamilton County Job and Family Services, there are 850 kids in the system right now who need a foster home and only 230 homes available. 

“We are seeing foster parents come to us and say I can’t be a foster parent anymore because I can’t afford it,” said Gregg. 

Despite a marketing effort to recruit new foster families, Lighthouse said those families are harder and harder to come by. 

“In the last three months, we have not had any foster parents or any families come forward that they’re interested in becoming foster parents,” said Jamie Clarke.