Southwestern Pennsylvania is struggling with a declining number of foster parents as fewer families are willing to step up, as experts estimate a surge of children to flood the system soon.
Now, Allegheny County is preparing for an increase in referrals to the Office of Children, Youth, and Families. In a statement, an administrator for Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services, Julia Reuben, said that “parental stress is a big predictor of child maltreatment.”
Foster Parents in Southwestern Pennsylvania
She added that when families do not have enough funds to feed their kids, they can surmise that their situations would lead to increased maltreatment. The current predicament comes as, in 2010, more than 1,000 families took in foster children for the first time or became certified to be a foster parent in Allegheny County.
However, this number suddenly dropped to 429 in 2024, and there are now only 1,077 foster care-approved families in southwestern Pennsylvania. This includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland counties, according to the Union Progress…