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ST. GEORGE — More children are being placed in the state’s care than ever before, and a shortage of foster parents means there are more children than homes to place them in.
A plea for more foster parents was made during a National Foster Parent Appreciation Month event when playhouses were delivered to three foster care families in Washington County Wednesday.
Utah is experiencing so many children coming into foster care that the Department of Child and Family Services is having trouble finding foster homes for them, Ben Ashcraft, representative for Utah Foster Care’s southwest region, said.
These children are placed in state custody due to abuse or neglect.
Part of the reason for the increase is due to an increase in drug abuse, Ashcraft said in an interview in April.
Typically the state has had an average of about 2,400 placement spots available for foster children. However, with 2,900 children in need of care, 500 children remain without a foster family.