Foster care gaps prompt Iowa attention and volunteer stories
Saturday report on Iowa foster care shortages contrasts with a profile of a "foster grandmother" who has cared for over 200 children. The series highlights need for training, recruiting drives in Eastern Iowa, and a former foster child turned foster parent. Online chat with local foster-family liaisons is planned for Monday evening at GazetteOnline.com.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iowa
Bill
Becky Konigsmark
GazetteOnline
Journalists Erin Walter and Lisa Livermore Profiles
Erin Walter is a 1997 Iowa State University journalism graduate who worked as a staff reporter at the Iowa State Daily and Des Moines Register before joining The Gazette in 2000. Lisa Livermore, a sophomore in journalism at the University of Iowa, has interned at The Gazette Iowa City newsroom and The Missoulian, with freelance work for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, now serving as a Gazette news correspondent.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Erin Walter
Iowa State University
Iowa State Daily
Des Moines Register
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Idaho
The
Gazette
Lisa Livermore
University of Iowa
Iowa City
Missoulian
Missoula
Mont
Waterloo
Cedar Falls
Iowa foster care needs and one woman's dedication
Linda Herring cares for three foster boys while noting Iowa's shortage of licensed homes. The state housed over 5,500 children in family foster care last year with about 2,500 licensed homes. Herring also volunteers with the Tiffin First Responder unit and works as a night custodian, describing foster care as a vocation not a money making job. Her husband Bob drives for Stutsman trucking.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Herring
Iowa
Department of Human Services
Clear Creek Amana
Bob
Stutsman
Foster care system under pressure boosts group homes and costs
The report details Iowa foster care dynamics with 2,800 children in shelter care, 2,700 in group homes, and 150 to 200 in independent living. It notes high growth in group care, costs about 50 000 dollars per child annually, and calls for a 5.2 million dollar DHS budget request to hire more staff.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iowa Department of Human Services
Iowa
DHS
Also Mentioned on This Page
Walter
Livermore
Linda Herring
Health and Human Services Department
Cedar Rapids
Kirkwood Community College
Missy
Lowa Citizen Foster Care Review Board
Fargo
Home Equity and Personal Loans
Lines OF Credit
Wells Fargo
Wellsfargo.com
Wells Fargo Banks
FDIC
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