According to the Childrenâs Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, in its most recent report to Congress, on the last day of 2011, nationwide, an estimated 407,000 children were in foster care. That represented a four-year low. And yet, for the first time in four years, more children entered foster care over the course of the year than exited.
Here in Houston, there are more than 3,000 children in foster care, many of them beyond an age at which adoption is likely. Many are split up from their brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, there arenât enough foster homes in Houston — not enough people interested in becoming foster parents.
On this edition of Houston Matters, we discuss the foster parent shortage, and the foster care experience. We meet Pepe and Christine Garcia, empty nesters who decided to become foster parents.
