Iowa sees fewer children in foster system while need for foster families remains high
Four Oaks says more family members have stepped up to keep children out of the system.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Since 2013, the number of children technically counted in Iowa’s foster system has been decreasing; however, there’s still a constant need for new foster families.
In 2013, the Iowa Data Center reported 10,400 children in the system — in 2022 that number dropped to 6,586.
Kai McGee with Four Oaks Family and Children Services credits The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018. That law gave family members of foster care candidates money to support taking the child in.
McGee says there are advantages to keeping those children with their families.
“That trauma then can be either exponentially multiplied by having that child go live with strangers that they’ve never met, maybe in a community completely outside their own,” McGee said. “Or, that child’s trauma can be alleviated and contained by putting that child with somebody they already know and have a relationship with.“
The need for foster parents remains high in Iowa. Four Oaks saw a spike earlier this summer.
“Foster care is still a necessity and we still have a gap in terms of the numbers of those kids that need foster homes and the number of homes available,” McGee said.
Four Oaks offers a comprehensive rundown of the processes and requirements necessary to become a foster parent.
“If they ever considered being a foster parent, now is the time,” McGee said.
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