Foster families desperately needed

Akia Scott watched the school-bus wheelchair lift gently deposit her foster daughter in front of Scott's Mount Pleasant home.

Scott roared with laughter when she saw a pink ribbon in the 11-year-old girl's hair — a touch from her teacher. "If I send her to school with two braids, she comes home with one," Scott said.

The girl, whose name cannot be released because of state policy, has cerebral palsy. She entered foster care because of medical neglect. Her biological parents' rights have been terminated.

Now, Scott is playing catch up, carrying her foster daughter to more than 20 medical appointments per month: cardiologist, dentist, neurologist, geneticist, and the list goes on.

The Department of Social Services desperately needs foster families. Charleston County has more than three children in need of a foster home per family available. That ratio holds statewide with 5,637 children in need and 1,856 certified foster families available.

Finding families for children in need of extra care is even more difficult. "We need them as though we need them yesterday," said Dianne Darby-Paul, program coordinator for specialized foster home services for region III, which includes 10 counties.

Read more in tomorrow's editions of The Post and Courier.