Wisconsin’s foster care system getting larger, coinciding with drug abuse rise

Among the people affected by someone battling drug or alcohol addiction are children living in that home.

That child, more often than not, ends up in foster care and those numbers have increased in Wisconsin over the past six years.

A study of the state’s foster care system by the Dept. of Children and Families showed a 16-percent increase in kids living at out-of-home care since 2012.

Getting a child back after it’s taken is a long, thorough process, said Lila Barlow permanency resource supervisor for La Crosse County.

“Sometimes it can be a year, sometimes two years for them fully to be able to get back to parent on a full-time basis,” she said. “ Kids don’t just sit in a corner and wait for mom and dad to be able to do things.”

Barlow says 11 bills passed by the Wisconsin legislature last session, giving more funding to the system, is a life saver.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such strong legislation go into working with our foster parents,” she said.

That includes a $5 million increase in aid for counties in the next two-year budget.