NORTH CAROLINA, USA — In Guilford and Rockingham counties, some foster kids are sleeping in county buildings.
Officials say the kids who need a place to stay are mostly those with behavioral needs.
Partnering agencies say beds are available in behavioral healthcare settings, but there isn't enough staff.
Departments of Social Services statewide work with organizations called local management entities and managed care organizations. These groups help transition kids with behavioral needs from foster homes and into behavioral health care settings.
Within the past few years, there's been somewhat of a disconnect. Children around the Triad have ended up sleeping in offices or makeshift housing.
DSS directors say that's because there are no behavioral health care beds available.
"Partners" is the name of the LME-MCO that manages several counties in the Western part of the Triad.
Lynne Grey with Partners says beds aren't available because those places don't have the staff to offer 24-hour care.
"Programs can only take a number of children based on their staffing ratios. So, if they don't have the staff, they can't take the children. So, like even our state hospitals, state behavioral health hospitals are experiencing this too, like Broughton, they have open beds that we can't put members into because there's not enough staff to keep those ratios," said Grey.
As far as immediate placement goes, Triad foster parents say the calls and notifications they get the most are for older kids.
"Which is very hard because they're very cognizant of what's happening and I just imagine you're taking from the only home and the only family you've known and instead of okay you're going to take you to this safe place, now you're sleeping in a public building that's locked up and you're safe for the most part, but I couldn't imagine at 13, 14, 15 years old feeling safe in that situation," said foster parent, Keyleigh Connell.
Just last week the state rolled out a new online bed registry. A site is a new tool aimed at helping providers find open behavioral treatment beds.
Right now, DSS offices don't have access to it, but the state says they plan on adding new facilities in the future.
Rockingham County DSS director, Felissa Ferrall is calling on more initiatives to keep kids from sleeping in county buildings.
"Placement providers are not able to deny the acceptance of a child if it's clinically recommended and that if a child is having some difficulty in a placement that there's not an immediate discharge, that there's a transition period so that this child is not being discharged immediately and has nowhere to go," said Ferrall.