Foster care has urgent need By Elliott Jones staff writer February 12, 2004

Foster care has urgent need
By Elliott Jones staff writer February 12, 2004
VERO BEACH — It is hard to find foster or adoptive parents for
teenagers that the state takes into public care because of abuse,
neglect or ending up parentless.
"We constantly have children trying to find a place to sleep," said
Georgia Malone, program director with the Hibiscus Children's Center
in Jensen Beach.
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The center is the state's foster parent recruiter in this part of
Florida.
Each week, about two to three teenagers need placement in this region.
"It is very difficult, most difficult finding foster care for
teenagers," Malone said.
There are 370 older children — ages 13 and older — in some form of
supervised care in the Treasure Coast region including Okeechobee.
Supervised care includes foster care, group homes and other oversight:
Even sitting in a office while workers try to find a home.
Of the 370, about 8.5 percent of them are in Indian River County,
center reports show. There are 153 foster homes on the Treasure Coast.
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/pj_local_n...648388,00.html
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