Md. Moves to Recruit 1,000 Foster Parents by 2010

Ovetta Wiggins:

Maryland has launched an aggressive campaign to increase the number of foster families, aiming to recruit at least 1,000 foster parents by 2010.

More than 10,000 children in Maryland are in out-of-home placements, and about 20 percent are in group homes.

"That's too many," said Norris West, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Human Resources, which places children in foster homes and group homes. "One thousand by 10 is a way to come up with a better balance."

Maryland has 2,800 foster families, and the campaign seeks to increase that number by 35 percent in two years.

Department Secretary Brenda Donald said Maryland is trying to reverse an alarming trend: One thousand foster parents were lost from 2003 to 2007.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 6, 2008 12:10 AM
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