May is National
Foster Care Month

Recruitment of Foster Parents for Teens

The Department of Children and Family Services recently launched a recruitment campaign for foster parents for teens. The campaign is part of the Department’s ongoing commitment to improve outcomes for youth in foster care by increasing permanency and connections before they transition to adulthood.

The need for foster homes is great in every region and at every age level, but the need for homes for teens is especially critical. Teens account for about 20 percent of children in foster care in Louisiana, but fewer than 5 percent of non-relative foster homes provide placements for them.

The campaign includes brochures, posters and informational cards – printed through a generous donation from One Heart NOLA, a Louisiana Fosters partner – to be distributed in communities throughout the state, on social media and the DCFS and Louisiana Fosters websites to highlight the urgent need for foster homes for teens.

DCFS provides training and support to foster caregivers, and each teen has a team of professionals within the child welfare system to support them and their caregivers. Caregivers are reimbursed for costs related to living expenses for the teen, and the teen has a medical card to cover medical expenses.

For more information about becoming a foster parent, visit www.LouisianaFosters.la.gov.

For copies of the campaign materials, visit www.dcfs.la.gov/TeenCaregivers.

Extending Foster Care to Age 21

A bill to extend foster care to age 21 for all youth in care on their 18th birthday is making its way through the state Legislature.

Senate Bill 109, authored by Sen. Regina Barrow, follows through on the recommendations of a legislative task force (SCR 10, also by Barrow) which found that extending the age of care would help improve outcomes for foster youth.

The voluntary program would allow the state to provide intensive services to aid in youths’ transition to adulthood. Without additional support, youth who exit foster care at age 18 typically experience very poor outcomes at a higher rate than their peers in the general population, including reduced rates of completing high school, post-secondary or vocational programs, and increased rates of homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse, unemployment, early pregnancy and dependence on public assistance.

Former foster youth, serving as interns through the Louisiana Institute for Children in Families, testified in the Legislature on May 23 about the impact that the continued support of extended foster care would have had on their lives. They thanked members of the Senate Special Committee on Women and Children for supporting the effort. Devin Fourmaux, one of the interns who’s a rising sophomore at LSU, closed his testimony by saying, “Here today I want to make a change so all foster youth can feel loved, live a happy life and find success.”