Foster homes are in short supply

Foster homes are in short supply

Since he entered "the system" a year ago, the 17-year-old has cycled through group homes in Tallulah and Jackson, La.; three separate stays in Boys Town, a shelter for teenage boys in New Orleans; multiple visits to juvenile detention; foster families; his mother's home; and an extended stay with a cousin while on the lam from state custody.
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As a result of the shortage, abused and neglected children might be placed in homes hundreds of miles away from their community and the world they know. Children taken into state custody can be held for hours at caseworkers' offices and left for months in emergency shelters because of a dearth of suitable homes. Others, like the 17-year-old at Boys Town, might be bounced from one placement to another until they leave the state system at age 18.