Foster Family Agency

Newly available data from Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) shows that the county’s foster-parent recruitment crisis extends to most parts of the county. The number of foster homes (including both county foster homes and private foster family agency homes) has dropped by 52 percent in the decade between 2005 and 2015.

Thomas leans over his computer putting the final touches on 40 hours of paperwork that encapsulates weeks of thoughtful dialog with his partner, Brett.* Finally, they have completed their applications to become foster parents.

Dear Daniel Heimpel, Sean Hughes and Richard Wexler, Your three-way exchange of views in The Imprint (May 4, 2016) may benefit from consideration in a larger context. The larger context is what economists and lawyers call the “principal-agent problem.”

It is Friday, May 4th, at the Richmond Courthouse. Sun spills into the trash-strewn courtyard as the immediate future of soon-to-be 19-year-old foster youth David C. is decided within. On Sunday, David will turn 19, throwing into question his eligibility for benefits provided through a celebrated California law that extends foster care to age 20.