Iowa children in foster care too long

To the editor:

Regarding the May 3 article 'Creating a stable foster home”:

I am leery about state intervention, but it's still our duty to protect abused children. Iowa's high standards of child protection may lead to higher numbers in foster care, but they also reflect Iowa's high level of concern about our children. The article cites 73 percent as the KidsNet success rate, when the goal is 90 percent. Considering the problems these children exhibit, however, this success rate should be applauded.

Still, children are in foster care a long time. Children develop quickly. For them, time moves much faster compared with adults. Six months out of a five year-old's life is one tenth of their entire lifetime - comparable to four years in the life of most adults. A child changes a lot in six months.

The 30 hours of Iowa-required foster parent training over 10 weeks uses excellent materials, but is painfully slow in delivery. Families wait weeks or months for the next course to start. This is a 1950s education-delivery method. Some other states include more modern online methods, training foster parents much faster yet equally well. Consequently, many Iowa families eager to help children do private adoptions, with some expenses paid by other states to take in and adopt those states' foster care children - not Iowa's.

Iowa could move kids out of foster care into adoption much more quickly.

William 'Bill” Pearce, Director

Adoption Associates of Iowa

Ankeny