News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Upper Cumberland Department of Children’s Services is facing a shortage of available foster homes in the region.
According to Regional Administrator Cheri Richards, DCS currently has 701 children in custody with approximately 230 foster homes.
“If you can do the math, we don’t really have enough foster homes to meet the need of the 701 children that we have,” Richards said. “We do the best we can. We have some foster homes that probably have more children than necessary, but we try to make sure those foster parents can meet the children’s needs.”
Richards said a majority of foster children that come through the agency are displaced due to drug or alcohol-related issues at home.
“More than 80 percent of the children that are in our custody, the primary reason is they’re coming in is because of alcohol or drugs,” Richards said. “But having said that, it’s very common that you have more than one reason. If people are addicted to meth, Oxycodone, the opiates, then you have other issues. Lack of supervision, environmental, domestic violence, mental health… There’s always several reasons why children end up coming into custody.”
Richards said an issue the department faces is foster homes that are closing and not taking in additional children
“Some foster families are closing because they only open their home for a relative, and that’s all they’re going to work with is the relative,” Richards said. “Then we have others that adopt. Once they adopt, they don’t necessarily want to have any more foster children in their home. So we always try to keep ahead of that pace, and we’re at 40 percent ahead of that pace at the moment.”
Richards said families looking to become foster homes for children in need can visit the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services website for more information. Families can also visit the Upper Cumberland DCS Facebook page for more details as well.
