The number of children who need foster care in South Dakota continues to increase. To help meet the needs for foster care, Abbott House is planning to open two therapeutic foster homes in the Sioux Falls area in the next 12 months.
The project will officially kick off with an educational event on Nov. 1 at 5 pm in Sioux Falls. Anyone interested in learning more about the Abbott House and this project is welcome to attend.
In 2021 there were 1,647 children in foster care. Today there are more than 200 children waiting for a foster care family. In the last five years, that number fluctuated slightly but overall foster care needs are as high now as they have ever been.
Abbott House has been working with the State of South Dakota since 2013 to help meet the needs of foster care youth. To date, Abbott House has opened eight therapeutic foster homes across the state – four in Mitchell and four in Rapid City. Each home provides a family for up to six youth who do not have a home or a family.
The South Dakota Department of Social Services is, again, asking Abbott House to step up and create two more therapeutic foster homes in the Sioux Falls area. The Abbott House Board of Directors has authorized a $2 million initiative to purchase and remodel two current homes for six boys and six girls up to age 18. The initiative has already been gifted more than $620,000 from private donors to get the project started.