RE: Number of foster homes

["Lisa M. Jones" <lisa.jones@xxxxxxx>]

I and a colleague of mine at Casey Family Services did an extensive
literature review on foster parent recruitment and retention and tackled the
issue of foster parent supply vs. demand.  It was hard to track numbers
down--there really aren't any well-kept statistics.  I'm not sure where the
Times got their numbers.  Below is the relevent text from our report on what
we were able to find.  Hope it is helpful.

Lisa M. Jones, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Psychology
Crimes Against Children Research Center (West Edge)
7 Leavitt Lane
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
(603) 862-2515
(603) 862-2899 (fax)
lisa.jones@unh.edu 
www.unh.edu/ccrc/ 



"Because there are fewer data sources available, estimating trends in foster
homes is more difficult than tracking trends for foster children.  According
to a survey by the Child Welfare League of America (2002), 38 states
reported a total of 133,503 licensed non-relative foster homes in 1998.
Twenty-two states reported the availability of 183,877 beds in licensed
homes.  There are some reports in the foster care literature that foster
homes have declined throughout the 1980s and 1990s (Kaye & Cook, 1993;
Pasztor & Wynne, 1995), but the evidence for such a decline is unclear.
Given a lack of data, it is difficult to assess the scope of what is felt by
agencies as a shortage of available foster homes.  This is complicated by
the fact that foster homes are typically licensed for more than one child
(U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993), and that foster
parents might be unwilling or unable to care for certain types of foster
children.  Summary statistics do not account for utilization patterns or
placement limitations of foster parents.  Even with detailed accurate data
on foster homes, however, it would be difficult to compare these numbers
with the number of children in need.  No available data capture the number
of children who might be appropriate for foster placement but are kept in
risky family conditions because of a lack of availability of homes.  More
information is needed to understand the complex nature of the shortage of
foster homes." 

Child Welfare League of America.  (September, 2002).  Pre-defined tables and
graphs on out-of-home care homes and facilities [on-line].  Available:
http://ndas.cwla.org/. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Vandervort [mailto:vort@umich.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 1:28 PM
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
Subject: Number of foster homes


The Op Ed page of last Saturday's New York Times included an article 
regarding the lack of adequate funding and resources in the child welfare 
system. It quoted statistics of 542,000 foster children and only 142,000 
foster homes. The fist number is consistent with typical estimates but I 
have never seen research regarding the ladder number. Does anyone know of 
research that would confirm this number or suggest a different number?

Frank Vandervort

Program Manager
Michigan Child Welfare Law Resource Center
611 Church Street, Suite 4C
Ann Arbor, Michigan  48104-3000
P: (734) 998-9191
F: (734) 998-9190