"We are appealing to our citizens to open their homes and hearts for these infants and toddlers," said County Manager Thom Reilly, a child welfare expert. "In their infancy, most children do best in a loving home. It’s unfathomable that so many babies in our community are in need of foster care."

Experts indicate that infants do best in family homes for bonding and attachment. Research also shows that many children, especially those under 5 years of age, do better emotionally in family homes.

A comprehensive foster care case review contracted by the county last year found that 21 percent of children were under the age of 1 and 48 percent of children were under the age of 5 when they were removed from their home.

"We now have more children than there are available family foster homes and the number grows every day," said Susan Klein-Rothschild, director of Family Services. "We need the community’s help in caring for our children who are waiting for a stable home, especially the infants and toddlers who need the comfort and nurturing of a family."

• Klein-Rothschild recently reported alarming figures from Child Protective Services (CPS):
  
  
• Children needing emergency shelter placement increased by 33 percent from 3,409 in 2003 to 4,548 in 2004.
  
  
• Monthly emergency shelter admissions increased by 24 percent from 379 in 2004 to 472 in 2005.
  
  
• Monthly CPS investigations increased by 9 percent from 748 in 2004 to 816 in 2005.

Substance abuse is one of the causes for the above increases, as well as other factors related to a child’s safe care. For example, the number of substance-exposed newborns due to drugs in general, and methamphetamine use in particular, is on the rise. Those treating substance abusers report that up to 85 percent of women seeking treatment state "meth" is their drug of choice. As a result, 308 children in 2005 were in need of protection through the court due primarily to testing positive for drugs at birth.

The growing number of children needing emergency shelter or a foster home has caused crowding at Child Haven and other emergency shelter facilities. Family Services has taken broad steps toward increasing Child Haven’s capacity and recruiting new foster families:

• One sibling cottage opened in August, adding 12 to 15 beds. Construction of the new Howard Cottage will be completed this year, increasing Child Haven’s capacity. Child Haven has a goal of 15 beds per cottage on campus.
  
  
• Family Services also signed two new emergency shelter care contracts late last year, which provided 19 new beds. Existing local contracts total 124 beds to date.
  
  
• The county launched a foster and adoptive parent recruitment campaign in May. The "community call-to-action" campaign, which was developed to address the acute need for foster and adoptive homes, resulted in a 76-percent increase in the monthly average of new applications submitted by potential foster parents. Some 105 new foster home licenses were issued from June to September, while special needs adoptions increased by 44 percent. Due to these increases, eight classes and three trainers were added to accommodate 120 more applicants.
  
  
• To address local families at risk for child abuse, the county will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) at the end of January to identify non-profits that can offer community-based services to supplement services provided by Family Services.
  
  
• Systematic improvements have been made to move children more quickly into permanent homes. For example, county officials have expedited licensing for the relatives of children taken out of their homes so that the children may be placed with them. About 32 percent of children in county custody, who are not living with a parent, are in a relative’s care.
  
  
• Critical positions have also been added to Family Services, including a grant-funded special needs adoption recruiter and 31 others since July. Additionally, some 34 more state-funded positions have been requested for the 2005-6 biennium and several temporary positions have been created for Child Haven.