Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Every Child Curry: Curry County foster homes at capacity; respite providers paid $90 per day
Summary
Every Child Curry and Oregon Department of Human Services staff said Curry County’s resource homes are at capacity, forcing some children to leave the community and separating siblings. The group is recruiting resource and certified respite providers; Oregon DHS pays respite providers $90 per child per day.
Every Child Curry and Oregon Department of Human Services staff said the coastal county lacks enough foster ("resource") homes, forcing some children who enter care to leave Curry County and often separating siblings.
"If a child comes into care in Curry County right now, they won't be able to stay in their community. They'll have to leave. And if siblings come into care, they'll likely be separated, and that's the hard truth," said Bonnie L., a child-welfare staffer who works with resource-family recruitment and retention for Curry and neighboring counties.
Bonnie described Every Child Curry's efforts to recruit and support families. The nonprofit evolved from a planning committee formed through coordinated-care outreach; it connects prospective caregivers to county processes and provides on-ramps such as respite caregiving and volunteer roles.
She outlined the certified respite-provider option for community members who want a lower-commitment way to help: applicants complete fingerprinting, background checks and a home safety walkthrough; the approval process can take a couple of months. "Once you're approved, which could just take a couple months, you would then be paid directly from the Oregon Department of Human Services, $90 for any amount of time in a day, 24 hour day, per child," Bonnie said.
Bonnie said some certified respite providers later become child-specific resource parents after building bonds during respite shifts. She also said the program can support reunification by providing ongoing respite to biological parents during trial reunification periods.
Community members interested in fostering or respite are asked to use Every Child’s online connect form (everychildoregon.org/curry or search "everychildcurry"); Bonnie said those inquiries are routed to staff who can walk applicants through next steps.
The episode closed with a call for community awareness: hosts and Bonnie said many residents may not know how few resource homes the county currently has and encouraged listeners to explore respite and resource-parent options.
The podcast did not record any formal votes or policy actions; it was an interview and outreach conversation. The next concrete steps described were outreach events and training opportunities for prospective caregivers.
