(C) Idaho Capital Sun This story was originally published by Idaho Capital Sun and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Utah Gov. Cox calls on Utahns to consider foster care amid large shortage of licensed families • Idaho Capital Sun [1] ['Alixel Cabrera', 'Danielle Prokop', 'Neal Morton', 'Shalina Chatlani', 'More From Author', '- May', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline'] Date: 2024-05-31 It has been decades since Utah had a similar crisis; the number of foster parents is at an all time low, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on Tuesday. Now, he and the first lady Abby Cox are calling on Utahns to consider opening up their doors for foster children There are 1,756 children needing foster care in Utah, Nikki MacKay, CEO of Utah Foster Care said. But, only 822 families are licensed to foster them. This is the lowest number the state has experienced in 25 years. Cox is following in the steps of former Gov. Mike Leavitt, he said, who responded to that crisis by calling a news conference and sending letters to faith leaders to share the message with their congregation. “We live in the most generous state in the nation. We live in the most religious state in the nation. Whether you’re religious or not, we live in a state that cares about giving back and taking care of our neighbors,” Cox said. He hopes that with the help of the communities, Utah can reverse a trend ubiquitous in the nation. “We truly believe that Utah can become the first state where there are families waiting for kids, instead of kids waiting for families,” Cox said, highlighting that while it may be one of the toughest jobs, it’s rewarding. Abby Cox added that while fostering may not be for everyone, a foster parent can come from any background; they could be single or married, homeowners or renters, LGBTQ, religious or non-religious, families with or without children, or empty nesters. “I think it would shock so many of you to know that there are children without families in this state, in Utah,” she said. “And that’s our call today.” Children older than 9 years old and those in sibling groups experience the biggest need for foster care in the state, she said. The majority of the kids have siblings, 1 in 3 are teenagers, 1 in 4 are Latinos, and 1 in 3 identify as LGBTQ, MacKay said. Many of them are hoping to return home to their family, whereas others wait to be adopted. When there’s a shortage of families to care for them, the kids end up staying in dormitories. In other states, children have stayed in hotels or at their caseworkers’ offices. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE “We do not want to see that here in Utah. Outcomes are better for children when they have options to best fit their individual needs. And we know that children do better when they’re with families,” MacKay said. “The kids in Utah need you and we need you.” During the news conference, advocates, faith leaders, foster parents and former foster kids spoke about the challenges and joys of the experience. Natalie Clark was one of them. Clark spent some essential years between foster homes. She learned to clean a house, wash her laundry the right way, and to condition her hair halfway down and not from the scalp from families that took her into their homes, she said. There are impacts on each side of the equation, she said. She had a space to grow and learn. Her families got a stellar big sister, and an active participant at all games at the park. Her community showed up when she needed it the most and now she’s an advocate for other kids in the foster care system. “It doesn’t necessarily mean forever and I think that’s the beauty of it. If even just for a season, the learning, the bond, the trust can be unbreakable, unforgettable and irreplaceable,” Clark said. “It’s not forever, but foster care to me is my forever village. My forever people and my lifelong cheerleaders.” More information about foster care is at Utahfostercare.org. Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Utah News Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor McKenzie Romero for questions: [email protected]. Follow Utah News Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter. [END] --- [1] Url: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/05/31/utah-gov-cox-calls-on-utahns-to-consider-foster-care-amid-large-shortage-of-licensed-families/ Published and (C) by Idaho Capital Sun Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/idahocapitalsun/