Foster services overwhelmed, understaffed. What should change?

(NewsNation) — America’s foster care system is in dire need of help. Socialite Paris Hilton, leading foster care expert Dr. John DeGarmo and the Health and Human Services Inspector General have said as much in the last week.

Hilton recounted her own traumatizing experience at a youth center when she was 16 years old in front of Congress, telling lawmakers about the abuse she said is rampant in foster and youth treatment centers.

While her experiences were not technically through the foster care system, her testimony to Congress is pushing lawmakers to improve care for the 400,000 kids in the foster care system.

DeGarmo said that, while unsurprising, Hilton’s horrible stay was likely the product of a foster care system in need.

“To be sure, there are some bad eggs in every barrel, so to speak, the majority though of those facilities are run well,” he said. “But so many of these facilities, again, truly are overwhelmed with the number of children coming in. And they don’t have the staff.”

The hotel heiress’ testimony came on the heels of an OIG report revealing that many states lack the necessary information needed to track maltreatment and abuse in their foster care facilities.

It’s something DeGarmo has witnessed firsthand as a foster parent.

“They’re all coming into a foster system that can’t handle it. We have more children coming into the system, whether it is from the opioid addictions whether it is across the border, and there are not enough foster parents,” he said.

DeGarmo said things will only improve by increasing support services for foster parents, lowering the caseworker-parent ratio and maintaining professional counseling for the children even after they’ve left the foster care system.