Study finds foster care shortfall

The $399 to $550 a month that foster parents receive from the state falls far short of covering the costs of their care, a national report released Wednesday says.

State officials dispute some of its findings, but the report's authors say it is the first time the cost of foster care has been calculated state by state. The authors include the National Foster Parents Association, a New York-based group called Children's Rights and the University of Maryland.

The report "also negates the popular opinion that foster parents are in it for the money," said Karen Jorgenson of Gig Harbor, president of the National Foster Parent Association.

The report ranked Washington 39th among states in terms of the dollar amount given to parents with 2-year-old foster children in 2006. The state ranked slightly higher in reimbursements for older children.

"Every state calculates things differently, and so it's really hard to make comparisons," said Cheryl Stephani, director of the state Children's Administration.

One problem is defining what basic care is. Although the report and state officials say basic care should include food, shelter and personal items such as clothes, they disagree on other areas.

The Minimum Adequate Rates for Children report says it costs $657 to $826 a month to provide basic care for a foster child in Washington. By that standard, the state needs to increase its basic payments by 57 percent to 76 percent.

But if all the school activity fees, occasional breaks for parents and other services offered by the state are counted, the state averages $936 to $1,215 per child per month, Children's Administration officials say.

Stephani said it is difficult to say whether all the expenses of foster care are being covered, noting many nonprofit groups also help parents. But she added that she doesn't think reimbursement has been the main concern of foster parents.

"It's really been about how we team with foster parents. ... How do we support them in a way that they can meet the needs of those foster children?" Stephani said.