Arizona sees decline in foster children

The state of Arizona now has fewer foster children in its system.

There are currently 430,000 children in Arizona’s foster care system. That may seem like a lot, but it is actually the lowest number the state has seen since 2012.

“There’s definitely a decrease,” says Cori Rico with Arizona’s Children Association. “The state of Arizona has looked at implementing different strategies to keep children in their family setting; their needs are a lot different from those coming into the system 10 years ago.”

It’s taken the foster care system a decade to improve the services provided and better understand the children it serves.

In the past, children moved from foster home to foster home in hopes of finding a good fit. Recent changes to the system address that instability.

” 12 or 15 years ago we saw a lot of movement with children,” said Rico. “A child would come in and if something happened and was moved there was a lot of disruption even in care .”

The disruption affected foster kids’ development, and made thriving difficult.

Rico says the constant transitions ‘adds to their [foster youth’s] trauma history’ even interrupting ‘brain development leading to consequences later on’.

Fewer foster children means less need for foster homes. Some kids now go into group homes. More and more are placed near, or with, members of their own biological family. Rico says the family connection is much preferred.

“Assuring that these children, that if they have to come into care, that the placement they get is the last placement before they either go back home,” said Rico. “If it goes to adoption we also want to ensure that is the first and only place in care and that’s our focus.”

If you have considered becoming a foster parent or want to get involved you can visit www.arizonaschildren.org to browse the various forms that you can have an impact on a foster child.

KYMA 2019