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Board proclaims May 2025 National Foster Care Month; county seeks 75 new resource homes under 75/25 initiative
Summary
The Board proclaimed May as National Foster Care Month, heard a report from Child Welfare Services on a county shortfall of community-based resource homes, and encouraged residents to attend informational meetings and consider becoming resource parents.
The Board of Supervisors proclaimed May 2025 National Foster Care Month for San Luis Obispo County and received a summary of the county’s foster-care needs from Deputy Director Nancy Kueser of the Department of Social Services.
Kueser told the board that the county receives roughly 325 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect monthly and that more than 200 children, teens and transitional-aged youth are currently in foster care in the county. She said relatives can be identified for approximately half of those children, leaving roughly 100 children in need of non-relative resource family homes; staff estimate there are only about 20–30 community-based resource homes available now.
The department is pursuing the “75/25” initiative launched last May with a goal of developing 75 new community-based resource family homes by the end of 2025 (25 homes for teens, 25 for school-aged children, 15 for ages 0–5, seven emergency foster homes and three shelter homes). Deputy Director Kueser and Social Services Director Devin Drake encouraged residents to attend bi-monthly virtual information sessions and to call the county’s foster-care intake number or visit slowfostercare.com for more information.
Two resource parents appeared in a recorded video shown to the board to describe why they foster and to encourage others to consider resource parenting; board members thanked resource families and urged community participation.
