What is wrong with placing Santa Barbara foster kids out of Santa Barbara County?
While there are some out of county placements that work well for some foster youth (e.g., a supportive and long-term placement with a nearby out of county relative), many challenges are associated with placing foster youth out of county. First, out of county placement creates an enormous burden on our county resources, both human and capital. Not only is it costly in terms of transportation to send foster youth out of county, the county also is required to pay for parents, social workers and attorneys to visit the youth out of county. Given that the county is currently forced to place students to the far reaches of California and even out of state, these expenses are significant. Second, statistics demonstrate that the majority of youth placed out of county inevitably return to their county (primarily because birth relatives or other roots exist there). They return as young adults after foster care concludes, and they bring with them all of the issues and problems acquired in frequentl
