With an increase of available foster parents and relatives who can take care of children in need, Casa de los Niรฑos is closing its crisis shelter.
Over the past year, the number of children in the shelter has decreased significantly from previous years, when more than 30 children a month were placed in the facility, officials said.
โCasaโs work has been shifting for some time to in-home services and education to thousands of families each year,โ CEO Susie Huhn said at a news conference Tuesday.
โLast year we serviced more than 9,000 children and families in the community.โ
โWhile there once was a time that the crisis shelter was the best way we knew to help children, thatโs changed over the years,โ Huhn said. โWeโve shifted to prevention and early intervention. We want to protect children, but also preserve their families.โ
The shelterโs closing is bittersweet, but with a new family center opening in the spring, this gives Casa the opportunity to grow and diversify, Huhn said.
โThe fact is that children do best in loving and supportive family homes,โ said Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, who previously served as Casaโs board president. โThe shelter is no longer necessary because weโre creating a caring community.โ
The closure of Casaโs shelter follows a state trend of other shelters closing, which signals the recovery of Arizonaโs child-welfare system after 10 years of escalating removals, said Department of Child Services Director Greg McKay.
โTen years ago, Arizona grew at the most rapid pace for children who came into the foster-care system,โ McKay said. โThe system toppled.โ
The number of children in out-of-home care has gone down, from more than 19,000 removals last March to less than 17,000 this March.
โLast year we had 3,000 kids in group settings, now weโre at 2,200,โ McKay said.
There are more than 11,200 beds available at the homes of licensed foster families, and 6,600 children are living in those settings, McKay said. There are 6,800 children with kinship providers, who are family members, he said.
โMany foster homes have beds available, and we have second or third options before children go to a shelter,โ McKay said. โDCS has more robust services that we didnโt have two years ago during the crisis.โ
While the state is always trying to recruit new families as foster parents, DCS has been hearing that foster families are waiting for children to come into their homes.
โWe always are trying to make the right match the first time around,โ McKay said.
In many cases, the state loses foster families because they end up adopting children who were placed into their homes, Huhn said.
Oct. 1 will be the last night Casaโs shelter is open for placements, but staff members donโt know if the shelter will last until that date, since it doesnโt have many children coming in, said Joanne Karolzak, Casaโs director of children and family services.
Casaโs executive staff will be undertaking a retreat session in the coming weeks that will focus on developing specific programs.
Casa is located in the 85705 ZIP code, which has previously had the highest number of child removals and high poverty rates, Karolzak said.
โOur mission is all about prevention and doing whatโs relevant for families that need care,โ Karolzak said.
โWeโre hoping to find a way to address these needs.โ
