Thursday, April 12, 2001
Many foster parents are forced to dig into their own pockets to meet expenses.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Foster parents in Columbiana County will receive more help in caring for their charges.
County commissioners agreed Wednesday to a request from the county job and family services department to increase the daily foster parent reimbursement rate from $9 to $11 for each child up to 11 years old. The daily reimbursement rate for children 11 to 18 goes from $9 to $16.
Reimbursement for 11-year-olds and teens is higher because youngsters in this group typically are harder to place in foster care and frequently have more behavioral problems, explained Eileen Dray-Bardon, job and family services director.
Money for foster care comes primarily from federal funds, although state and local dollars also are used. Dray-Bardon did not immediately know the amount of the local share.
In requesting the reimbursement increase, Dray-Bardon said the county currently pays the minimum reimbursement required by the state for foster care. Average reimbursement for foster parents statewide is $22 per day per child.
Not enough: The amount the county pays isn't enough to meet expenses foster parents typically incur, Dray-Bardon said.
"There's no doubt our families are contributing out of their own pockets," she added.
The county has difficulty getting qualified adults to serve as foster parents. There are 23 families in the county that open their homes to foster children, usually one youngster at a time. The county must provide foster care for more than 80 children, however.
When foster parents hired by the county aren't available, the county is forced to pay foster parents provided by private companies at more than $20 per day per child.
Offering more pay may help the county recruit more foster parents for its own network, Dray-Bardon said.