Missouri foster care payments likely to rise

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's foster parents, who receive some of the lowest government subsidies in the nation, soon could be getting a raise.

The state's basic foster care payments now range from $227 to $307 a month, depending on the age of the child.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday approved a budgetary increase that would amount to additional $52 to $60 a month for foster parents.

A budget previously passed by the House included a rate increase of half that amount. But since budget writers in both chambers embraced a rate increase, that virtually assures that the final version also will include additional money for foster parents. Lawmakers typically strike a balance between what the two chambers approve.

Missouri hasn't raised its payments to foster parents since 2001, even though payments to institutions that house foster children have risen in recent years.

"We've been trying for a long time to get them in Jefferson City to see that we needed an increase," said Jim McKenna, president of the Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association and a regional vice president for the National Foster Parent Association.

"I'm really glad to see that they're making the right move and trying to put some money here and increase the rates, because the foster kids really deserve it," said McKenna, of Cape Fair, who has two foster children.

Missouri has about 8,400 children in traditional foster care plus about 1,700 in institutions that provide residential care, the Department of Social Services said Monday.

The budget, as drafted by the House and Senate committee, also would increase payment rates for institutional foster care. Their rates, typically ranging from $108 to $122 a day, already have risen $15 a day in the past couple years and would go up another $5 a day in the proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Traditional foster parents currently receive a basic rate of $227 monthly for children up to age 5; $277 monthly for children ages 6-12; and $307 monthly for children ages 13 and older. Foster parents of infants receive additional money for diaper costs, and foster parents of children with special needs also receive higher monthly rates.

The state payments cover about one-third of what it actually costs to care for the children, said Lori Ross, of Blue Springs, the executive director of the Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association.

Ross said she and her husband have cared for more than 400 foster children over the past 22 years. They currently have two foster children -- ages 2 years old and 9 months.

"The ability to play soccer or buy new school clothes in the fall are things that are tremendously difficult for most foster parents to do," she said. "They haven't received the monetary support that really is due."

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Chuck Gross, R-St. Charles, said he proposed to double the foster care rate increase previously approved by the House because the payments have remained too low for too long.