Heartland for Children in Bartow looks for more foster parents as need grows urgent

BARTOW, Fla. - Foster care agencies, including Heartland for Children in Bartow, are desperately looking for more foster parents. 

A few years ago, Heartland for Children had 250 foster families. The agency now has 200, which puts the agency and the children it serves in a difficult position.

The numbers of foster families started to drop off after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

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"When you’re foster parents, you have to be open and flexible with caseworkers, Guardian Ad Litem and mental health professionals really on a monthly basis," Heartland for Children COO Kimberly Daugherty told FOX 13. "A lot of different people are in and out of your home, and there were families that really wanted to reduce that traffic."

When inflation started to rise, grandparents and parents began moving in with relatives who were foster parents. Spare bedrooms disappeared, so many foster families no longer had room to take in kids.

Even families who ended up adopting children placed with them came at a cost. 

READ: Bradenton foster mom adopts four siblings, giving them loving home

"We had a number of cases where children were adopted, and those families did get full, and they were no longer able to foster any other children," Daugherty said.

Daugherty said when there are not enough foster families kids suffer. Children may have to be placed far from their parents, and siblings may have to be separated.

Anyone interested in taking in a foster child or children can find more information by calling 863-519-8900 ext. 289 or visiting www.heartlandforchildren.org.