Why Georgia's Foster Care System Is In Crisis

Georgia's foster care system is in crisis. The number of kids in the state's custody rose 60 percent from 2010-2017. This year alone, 20,000 children have been in the state's foster care system — and there just aren't enough homes to house them. In Macon's Bibb County, for example, there were 265 children in foster care, but only 60 Division of Family and Children Services foster homes. "On Second Thought" host Virginia Prescott speaks with Samantha Max and John DeGarmo.

Health reporter Samantha Max has been reporting on foster care in middle Georgia for The Telegraph. She joined us for a conversation about the stretched-thin foster care system and the mental health implications for children in foster care. John DeGarmo, a foster parent and author of several books on foster care, spoke with us as well. DeGarmo and his wife recently opened Never Too Late, a foster home for adolescent boys in Monticello, Georgia, to help address the shortage of foster homes in the state.