![Medina County has started using private agencies and networks to find additional foster homes and meet the need. [Brian A. Jackson / Shutterstock.com]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/246949e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x551+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F1%2F16%2Fshutterstock_363137819.jpg)
Medina County officials are searching for homes for the highest influx of foster children officials have seen in years. About 100 children are currently in the county’s system.
In the past, the majority of children have come from family dealing with drug-related issues, said Sharon Holmes, supervisor for the county’s foster care adoption team. But the need has shifted in recent months, she said.
“It could be neglect, physical abuse, homelessness,” Holmes said. “Just different types of cases now, not only the drug issues but other things are happening with the families in our community.”
Medina County started using private agencies and networks to help find new families willing to foster, Holmes said, since many of the local foster homes are at their limit for taking on kids.
“We are really looking to recruit more foster families, just because we are really struggling with trying to find a home for kids now,” Holmes said.
The number of children in the program tends to fluctuate, Holmes said, but it’s currently the highest she’s seen in 13 years working in the county.
“Normally we average 60 to 70 children,” she said. “That fluctuates because kids go home or some kids may be adopted, but our numbers have just gotten really high here in the past couple of months.”
Fifty children spent at least one night in the county’s foster care system in the first quarter of 2014, said Jeff Felton, director, Medina County Job and Family Services. That number jumped to nearly 110 children in the final quarter of 2019.
“We’re not having nearly as many kids return home as we used to,” Felton said.
Many of the children coming in are siblings, Felton said, with as many as five from one family.
And the ages of the children are more variable, Holmes said.
“Before, when we would recruit for new families, we would say we need homes for older kids or school-aged kids,” Holmes said. “But now I’m just telling people we need homes for kids from zero to age 18 because we’ve got a lot of younger kids in care right now, too.”
The department will hold an open house Feb. 20 to bring in potential foster families. It also will offer training for potential foster parents beginning in March.