Shortage of licensed foster care homes in Southwest Florida

More children are in need of a family than ever, but there is a shortage of foster care homes in Southwest Florida. In the last year, 51 children were adopted into permanent foster homes in Collier County alone.

When children are removed from their homes due to neglect or abuse, Collier County has one emergency shelter, Youth Haven, where they can go to heal away from the hazards of drug use, alcohol abuse, homelessness or suicide. There are 53 licensed foster homes in Collier County with bed capacities of 98 children, but 279 children are served on average each month. The CEO of Youth Haven, Linda Goldfield, says more kids are arriving because more and more parents are struggling to make ends meet.

“The numbers, over the last few years, of children in foster care have remained somewhat static,” Goldfield said. “However, the children that are being brought to our care are suffering from more trauma. As the economy is suffering in our communities, families are struggling to make ends meet, there’s oftentimes more or increased rates of abuse in families and children being removed.”

Goldfield added that when a child comes to the facility, located at 5867 Whitaker Road, the first thing staff does is give them fresh clothes and food and make sure their medical needs are met within 72 hours. But there are not enough foster homes in the community, so children are coming in and staying longer. Goldfield says it’s also hard for many families to take in children who have suffered trauma.

“We take a child to a doctor, make sure they have their medical needs met, we take them into our on-campus boutique to pick out clothes—oftentimes, many of the children arrive with very limited clothing—we give them bedding, stuffed animals, set up their room so it feels like home,” Goldfield said.

Goldfield says she hopes the number of licensed foster homes grows because there are many foster children who are in need of a loving home.