ABC11 pushes for solutions to get Wake County foster teens out of living in office building
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- ABC11 is pushing state officials for funding solutions to find suitable living conditions for Wake County teenagers in foster care who are being housed inside a county office building.
The county is housing as many as 20 to 25 teenagers at a time inside the building. The teens are living together and sleeping, showering and eating in office spaces that have been set aside for them.
ABC11 took its findings to state Rep. Sarah Crawford, D-Wake, who said the situation reflects a broader issue facing foster care systems across North Carolina.
We definitely don't want children sleeping in offices.- Rep. Sarah Crawford, D-Wake
"This is a huge problem. Not just here in Wake County, but really across the state," Crawford said. "Our No. 1 priority in the state is and should absolutely be to make sure that our kiddos, particularly kiddos in foster care, have access to a safe and stable environment. And we definitely don't want children sleeping in offices."
When asked what could be done to secure funding to move the teenagers out of the Wake County office building, Crawford said lawmakers have been working in numerous ways to support the foster care system.
"We've been doing a lot at the legislative level to try to put some funding into the foster care system, support our teens, to support our youth, to support kids in foster care, to help give them the tools that they need to be successful," she said.
Crawford said there are 10,500 children in foster care across North Carolina. Asked about alternatives to traditional foster family placements, Crawford said the state should consider a variety of options.
"You know, I think we have to come up with all kinds of creative solutions," she said.
Crawford also pointed to other housing models for teenagers in foster care.
"We should be looking at some of those types of models as well. Again, to get, to get, kiddos, our teens into some sort of, you know, potentially group home situation," she said.
Crawford said several pilot programs are operating across the state aimed at streamlining the process for families to become foster parents, with the goal of helping move teenagers in foster care into stable homes.
