But proposals to relax oversight follow state audits that uncovered extensive problems even with venues already housing children. Nevada officials are looking at loosening licensing requirements for foster homes - a step some advocates say is needed. Good solutions are hard to come by, though. 'It's not to say that I think any of these systems are choosing to rely on these practices, but the deeper they get into relying on them, they're just digging their hole deeper and deeper.' Resorting to these kinds of placements is not only destructive for children, Welch says, but it also drains resources from state welfare departments. In Sacramento County, California, children have been placed in a former juvenile detention center being used as a temporary shelter. Greg Gianforte signed legislation in May that provides $7,500 in state income tax credit to parents who adopt foster children.

In Montana, which also experienced a 23% decline in licensed foster homes, Republican Gov.

State lawmakers there are working on a bill to give more funding to the child welfare system. In North Carolina, where the number of licensed foster homes dropped 23% from 2021 to 2022, children are sleeping in jails and emergency rooms. Leecia Welch, deputy litigation director for the advocacy group Children's Rights, says there's no question many states have been relying on inappropriate placements for children because of a lack of foster homes. The number of licensed foster homes declined by nearly 18% in Nevada, while South Carolina had a 61% decline, the largest of any state. states saw a decline in licensed foster homes from 2021 to 2022, according to a report on national trends by The Imprint, a nonprofit publication that reports on child welfare and family issues. The emergency in Elko County is not unique. Jails and emergency rooms for foster kids, too During those emergency placements, the state paid staffers overtime to tend to the children in a 1-to-1 ratio. The agency housed seven children from rural Nevada counties in casino hotel rooms, each for a short stint, over an 89-day stretch that ended in May. KFF Health News Brandy Holbrook, a state social services manager, is sounding the alarm about the lack of foster homes available for children in need in this rural northeastern corner of Nevada.

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