More Children, Less Money—The State Of Child Welfare Budgets

Over the past couple of weeks, we reported on two stories that caught my attention: Pennsylvania Child Abuse Reports Rose 41% Between 2014 & 2016 and Number Of West Virginia Children Entering Foster Care Due To Parental Addiction Rose 124% Between 2006 & 2016. In both of these articles, we learned that states are reporting increases in the number of children involved with the child welfare system. Troublesomely, the Pennsylvania article also reported that despite the increase in children entering the system, there has been no corresponding increase in the number of children and youth services (CYS) caseworkers.

This prompted . . .