Anchorage residents Lula Canty was a foster mother for the past 13 years. She’s sheltered more than 40 kids, and had three adopted. She’s now fighting the state’s shortage of child care.
“I would like to stay in longer when I had daycare or someone who could watch the kids,” Canty said. “But there’s the need.”
Canty is a full-time worker and has had two children put in her care, but she could not locate them in a child care center.
“I had two infants,” she said. “And that was quite a difficult to deal with, since there was no room for babies in daycares. In the end, I had to locate another place that could care for the kids.”
There’s no one like Canty. In the ever-dwindling numbers of Alaska foster parents, locating childcare is getting more difficult, particularly for foster parents who are working. There are long waiting lists for admission to many childcare facilities and foster parents aren’t able to be patient for long periods of time to find a space.
Aileen McInnis is the director of the Alaska Center for Resource Families which assists in recruiting foster parents and educate them. Sometimes, foster parents can receive an appointment on a Friday, and then need to find a child care provider before Monday.
“A majority of families imagine that they’ll need child care due to summer, due to the fact that they have started working, or returning from maternity leave,” McInnis said. “But the majority of foster care placements occur in an emergency situation.”
McInnis stated that another issue is related with the high levels for trauma in children who are foster. McInnis noted that it can be difficult to locate child care centers with staff trained to deal with trauma.
“Sometimes at child-care facilities, a behaviour that could be likely to be a sign of traumatized circumstances could be a reason for the child to be exiled from the child care facility,” McInnis said. “And the foster family must locate a location that will be a good fit for the child.”
The cost of child care can be quite high and the most affordable services typically starting at about 1,000 dollars per month for a child. Foster parents get around $26 per day for children younger than 5. Canty The Anchorage foster family member, told the Anchorage Times that there are stipends paid by the state to cover the costs of child care. However, they’re only available between $700 to $800.
“So when you add Pampers and then you’ll be able to get assistance in formula” Canty said, “it’s an option however, you’re going have to buy additional bottles of formula and diapers and also pay for the additional daycare.”
State Office of Children’s Services Director Kim Guay said the COVID-19 epidemic has already affected the foster care system of the state which led to an increase in how many foster families are able who supervise Alaska’s nearly two-hundred foster kids. Guay said that the absence of child care has made the problem more difficult.
“It’s an extremely big issue,” Guay said. “It’s increasing the likelihood that people don’t want be foster children.”
She added that it’s more difficult to find high-quality childcare for children in remote areas within Alaska.
“You have your aunties and uncles and grandparents who could help and offer a bit of this care,” Guay said. “But they’re not able to access any of the amenities. Sometimes, they’re not in their hub communities, where their family members are.”
She added that OCS has been working on solutions, including increasing the stipend that families receive to children with mental or behavioral health issues. There’s no quick fix.
“I do not know the answer to this question. How can we resolve these issues?” Guay said. “Who’s has the money for it? This is something I’m sure to worry about.”
There are regulations that govern foster children since they are state wards.
Melrina Daniels, who has fostered more than 60 children during her time as a child foster mother in Anchorage She said OCS requires all people who watch an foster child to pass an identity check and fingerprints in their file even if they’re being watched for a brief duration.
“Let’s simply say that I’m in an emergency for one child and I need to transport that child into the medical facility or an appointment with a doctor” Daniels said. “I cannot leave the child with, for example my mother who is retired and is at staying at home, as she’s not able to conduct an identity check. She has no fingerprints as well. She’s also not registered with OCS. Then you’re faced with another layer of”Oh my God is this really happening? What do I have to do what do I do?'”
Daniels assists foster families that require someone to watch their children for a short period they have in their care. However, the state has witnessed an increase on the amount of foster parents authorized to provide this type of care.
To help alleviate the problem of child care faced by foster parents, Daniels is currently working to establish the child-care center specifically for foster children.
“My home is setup because I provide foster care” she explained. “And that’s why I have a dedicated play area. It’s just an entire room only for children. It was therefore easy to transform the space into a daycare at home.”
Daniels stated that she hopes to get started within the next three months. However, as a one caregiver, she’d be able watch as many as 10 children dependent on their age. The need is large. She expressed her desire to receive government grants to assist others in the process of setting up centers for children. She believes that OCS could play a more active role in establishing similar programs.
