Jan. 10, 2011, 6:20 p.m. PST
The Garden Island
LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — The number of new foster family providers in Hawaii is down about 20 percent, leaving an unmet need for the 1,400 children in foster care.
Hui Hoomalu, the group contracted by the state to recruit and train families for foster care licenses, attributes the decline to the economy.
Hui Hoomalu general license recruitment and training coordinator Stephanie Helbush told The Garden Island that as people have lost jobs, they've moved in with their families, leaving less room for foster children.
The group needs to license 280 families statewide by the end of the fiscal year in June to meet the state's current need for providers.
So far this fiscal year, the state has licensed 40 families. Last year at this time, 49 families were licensed.
Maybe about a thousand kids need to go back home where they belong
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