Community Sends Kids Back to School with a Little More Supplies, a Lot More Dignity

August 9, 2023

Port St. Lucie –

Communities Connected for Kids' 2023 State of Our Children - an annual report created to give the community a general overview of the local child-welfare system - is revealing some post-pandemic growing pains.

The number of children entering care during the past 12 months increased by 157 children, from 707 in 2022 to 864 as of June 30. That's a significant 22 percent increase, CCKids Community Relations Director Christina Kaiser said.

Making the increase more significant is the fact that many of those children have greater behavioral issues stemming from deeper trauma.

"So we have more children coming into care with a greater acuity of issues," Kaiser said. "And that impacts other measures, like the number of children who are removed from home and the number of caregivers willing to become licensed foster parents."

In fact, the number of children served out of their homes increased on average by 32, from 478 in 2022 to 510 this year. While the number isn't dramatic, CCKids officials are concerned the increase may be the beginning of a trend with wide-reaching impact.

For example, when the number of children coming into care increases, but the number of foster homes doesn't keep up, more children are likely to end up in group homes.

That's exactly what happened this year, Kaiser said.

"The number of children in shelter jumped from an average 44 last year to 65 this year," she said.

While group care is an essential part of the child-welfare community, it should not be used as a placement of last resort. That's because most children do better in a home environment. It's also significantly more expensive to the system of care.

So why are more children entering care this year? The answer is complicated, but child-welfare professionals have known for years that socio-economic and political shifts create pressure on families that often result in increased substance abuse, domestic violence and mental illness - the three big drivers of child abuse.

Three years of a health crisis, partial shut downs and limited community interaction - combined with the rising cost of living - may be part of the problem.

"We also saw a significant decrease in children in care during those three years," Kaiser said. "And now we are seeing what might be considered an expected increase following the pandemic."

It's not all bad news, though.

The 2023 State of Our Children points to some positive trends that could have a tremendous impact on the system of care for years to come.

"As in previous years, our community of care excels at finding adoptive homes for children," Kaiser said. This year marks the sixth consecutive year that the local area - thanks to the hard work of CCKids' adoption provider, Children's Home Society - has exceeded its annual adoption goal.

And although the number of licensed foster homes dropped, the number of relative caregivers who opt to become licensed to care for their own kin continues to increase.

This year, 118 relatives were licensed compared to 109 in 2022. That's an 8 percent increase that allows more children to stay close to home - and removes some strain from the area's network of foster homes.

Interested in becoming a licensed foster parent? It's obvious we need you! Call (772) 873-7800 and ask for Jerra to get started.