Arizona Needs More Foster Parents
Arizona Needs You
The most recent semi-annual report issued by the Arizona Department of Child Safety indicated that there were 14,205 Arizona children in out of home care on June 30, 2019.
After consistent declines from a peak of 19,000 children in 2014, this report reflected an increase of 3% from December 2018 numbers. While that doesn’t sound significant, it means that 423 more children were in the system than six months earlier.
That report also reflected another very concerning statistic.
The number of Arizona licensed foster homes dropped to a record low of 3,987, a 6% decline from the prior report. More children, combined with fewer homes, presents challenges for ensuring the safety of children who have been abused and neglected.
Arizona Helping Hands is the largest provider of basic needs to children in foster care throughout the state of Arizona. We once again set new records in virtually all of our service categories in 2019. More twin beds, cribs, back to school kits and birthday packages were provided than ever before. One category, however, saw a year over year decline — our home safety packages.
In order to be licensed as a foster home, the state
