Our very own Family Recruiter and Outreach Supervisor, Jackie Pleska, had the privilege of being interviewed by Pittsburgh Media Partnership for a recent article chronicling current struggles of foster care agencies around Allegheny County. The article, “‘Never Enough:’ Number of foster parents declining in Southwestern Pennsylvania” shares the resounding chorus of agencies in our region who do not have enough resource homes in which to place all of the Allegheny County children and youth in foster care. According to the article, Allegheny County has seen a 50% decrease in yearly foster parent certifications from 2010 to 2024.
“In 2010, over 1,000 families took in foster children for the first time or became certified to be a foster parent in Allegheny County. This number dropped to 429 in 2024.”-Erin Yudt, Pittsburgh Media Partnership
To add to the dilemma, pauses to state and federal funding to programs like SNAP may very well lead to an increase in referrals and a greater need for resource homes in our state. County offices and agencies are doing their best to provide the allotted stipends to foster families, but funds are tight. Many of the programs ACPA and similar agencies refer families to are not currently able to serve families to funding halts. These pauses are a huge hit to prevention initiatives. As Jackie states in the article:
“Neglect is often another term for poverty.”
Adoption Connection, PA, is grateful to be featured in Pittsburgh Media Partnership‘s article and to continue to serve children and family in Allegheny County regardless of circumstances. We hope you will take the time to read the full article.
If you would like to make a difference in the life of a child, you can do so by applying to become a foster parent or donating to Adoption Connection, PA.
This post is made in reference to:
Yudt, Erin. “‘Never Enough:’ Number of foster parents declining in Southwestern Pennsylvania.” Pittsburgh Media Partnership, Center for Media Innovation, 31 October, 2025, https://www.nextgenerationnewsroom.org/news/never-enough-number-of-foster-parents-declining-in-southwestern-pennsylvania. 4 November, 2025.