NEW YORK — Washington joins the many states that reimburse foster parents significantly less than the actual cost of raising a foster child, complicating the task of finding good homes for children, according to a new survey.
The survey analyzed regional living expenses and calculated on a state-by-state basis the minimum cost of adequately raising a foster child. Only Arizona and the District of Columbia pay foster parents more than this minimum amount. Base payments in 28 states would need to be raised at least 50 percent.
Among the worst is Washington state and Oregon. They and seven other states — Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and South Carolina — need increases of 76 percent to 100 percent to meet minimum rate, according to the report
Five of states — Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin — would need to more than double their current base rates to adequately cover the cost of rearing a foster child.
It was compiled by agencies including the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the National Foster Parent Association.
Of the more than 500,000 U.S. children in foster care at any given time, about 75 percent live with foster parents.
The report expressed concern that inadequate reimbursement rates would worsen a shortfall of foster parents, “potentially increasing the likelihood that children will be placed in institutions or shuttled from one foster placement to another.”
Although child welfare agencies are required by federal law to reimburse foster parents for the cost of raising foster children, there is no national minimum, leaving states and localities free to set their own rates. The result is a huge disparity. The base rates paid for raising a 2-year-old foster child range from $236 a month in Nebraska to $869 in the District of Columbia.
The monthly rates recommended by the report, averaged out on a national basis, were $629 for 2-year-olds, $721 for 9-year-olds and $790 for 16-year-olds. Currently, the average monthly base rates offered by states are $488 for 2-year-olds, $509 for 9-year-olds and $568 for 16-year-olds.
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