Foster parents to get extra cash

Cash doesn't factor in when Heidi Sheffield talks about her two foster kids, unless it's about what it takes to keep a blended family with five children running.

Sheffield works one job. Her husband has two.

A couple of trips to the store for supplies for their 9-month-old foster son or food and clothes for his 13-year-old foster brother and the $824 they had been getting from the state each month is pretty much gone.

Starting next week, though, an extra $73.80 a month will start coming in for the baby, meaning the Bonita Springs mom can buy three more cans of formula or six more packages of diapers. A similar increase for her older son could help pay for an after-school hobby or extracurricular sport.

Whether their expenses run toward bottle warmers or skates, foster families across the five-county area will see their budgets eased in July when board rates from the Children's Network of Southwest Florida rise by 20 percent. Fueled by a combination of increased state money and contributions from the agency itself, the jump is the first in recent memory for many who take other people's children into their home.

"It will help, every little bit helps," Sheffield said. "Infant formula, diapers and baby food, wipes, it eats up every penny. This definitely isn't anything you do for the money."

Those caring for children younger than 5 will see the board rate increase from $369 a month to $442.80. That translates to a little more than $2 a day for young children, said Harry Propper, chief executive officer at the Children's Network. The nonprofit group is contracted by the Department of Children and Families to oversee foster care in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties.

Statewide, the $2 a day increase will be standard for children of all ages under legislation increasing the board rate that passed in Tallahassee this spring. Locally, parents with older foster kids will see a little bit more because Propper said it didn't seem fair for households with older children to get a smaller cut, percentage-wise.

Because food and other expenses rise as children age, board rates are higher for a teenager than a baby. That means the $2 daily boost for youngsters 13 and above would have translated to just a 16 percent increase.

The extra 4 percent to make the change even for all Southwest Florida kids will come from the Children's Network itself, Propper said. The money was cobbled together from savings the agency was able to make within its system, he said.

Foster families with a 6- to 12-year-old in the house now will receive $456 monthly. Those in charge of teenagers will collect $546 a month.

The father of two teen boys, Propper said he's well aware that cash could be spent entirely at the grocery store alone.

Many of the network's families, like the Sheffields, reach into their own pockets to make ends meet, he said.

"Foster parents go above and beyond," he said. "It's more than the money' these people are like angels. They come and give of themselves in so many ways. It's rarely the money that is the issue."

Still, he hopes the increased rates could be attractive to a family considering fostering.

More potential families to choose from in the system would yield matches that are more personalized, he said. It could also mean that fewer families are asked to take in more than one ward, meaning parents could focus on the needs of one child at a time, he said.

Advocates agree cash is rarely why a family decides to take in foster children. But for some, board rates that haven't budged since 2000 could be a reason another household can't consider it.

While a two-part study commissioned by the Florida Department of Children and Families found that spiritual callings or a desire to help were often cited as things that led people to start fostering, it suggested a higher board rate that would fully cover the costs of taking a child in would likely help recruit and retain them.

Stan Applebaum, president of the Foster Care Council of Southwest Florida, said it is likely more children could be placed if more money was available to families.

His organization wouldn't be needed if the board rates were all that were needed to make ends meet.

The foster care council covers the same five-county area as the Children's Network. It covers the costs of the extras some foster families can't afford with children, starting with clothing for kids who often leave home suddenly, sometimes with only what they can carry in a bag.

There are presents for the children at Christmas and on their birthdays, Applebaum said. Athletic equipment, art lessons and musical instruments are offered, too, all the things that kids need to build self-esteem, he added.

Applebaum, both a former foster child and foster parent, said the hike in board rates won't help everyone.

Many children live with other family members under what is known as a relative placement. Their board rate is much less than for kids placed with outside foster families and will not be increased, he said.

That could be a concern for some, especially as the cost of living continues to rise in the region. The bulk of the 250 children placed in the system are in Lee County, where housing prices have seen astronomical leaps in just one year's time, much less in the six that passed between this rate increase and the last.

The same is true in Collier County, where Penny Taylor, a Naples city councilwoman, has been a foster mom for three years.

Studies have shown there is a great need for families willing to open their homes, particularly in Collier County, she said, adding that she feels it is clear Florida is behind in what it pays foster parents.

According to the National Foster Parent Association, a family with an income from $36,800 to $61,900 was estimated in 1999 to spend between $8,450 to $9,530 a year raising a 6- to 11-year-old child.

Under the new board rates, the family of a child that age in Southwest Florida will receive $5,472 annually.

Still, Taylor said the current rates aren't prohibitive for someone who really is interested in taking in a child.

"If you want to do, you do it," she said.

Sheffield agrees. She and her husband already had talked about adoption when the opportunity arose to take in their 13-year-old foster son two years ago. In November, the Children's Network approached them with their second foster son, who was just 11 weeks old.

They were able to consider it only because the Children's Network also pays for the infant's day care, she said.

All the kids in the family are treated equally, she said, foster or not. The couple pitches in to cover whatever expenses aren't met by the board rate, she said.

The costs associated with the kids hasn't made the couple think twice about the two they have, Sheffield said.

But if money were no object, she'd have 10, she said.