news-record.com

The number of children in foster care in Guilford County has dropped significantly.

As Gerald Witt reported recently in the News & Record, the total of foster children here decreased from 573 in 2002 to 396 in 2009.

That's lower than the state average and lower than the rates in Wake and Mecklenburg counties as well.

But is it necessarily a good thing?

If the rate is decreasing for the right reasons, yes. And in Guilford County, that appears to be the case.

Leveraging government and foundation grants, the Department of Social Services is testing more preventive approaches to child custody, including a fatherhood program that aims to keep men engaged in their children's lives.

If men receive the support and encouragement to be more responsible fathers, a burden that too often falls solely into the hands of mothers is shared. Families take root. Potentially broken homes stay whole.

Another front-end solution matches new mothers with nurses for the child's first two years, a strategy that helps reduce child abuse.

Yet another, called "Family to Family," provides moderated meetings among immediate and extended family members.

And still another involves therapeutic foster care, in which parents of mentally disabled children receive training and in-home staff support.

When successful, that approach prevents the need for the child to live in a group home.

Such initiatives often result in children being placed with relatives rather than with foster families. Effective intervention also saves taxpayer money. Foster parents receive $500 to $600 per month for each child in their care.

Indirectly, it curbs the inevitable costs to public schools, court systems and police when the system doesn't work and children lose their sense of belonging ... and mattering.

This isn't to suggest that foster parents don't play a critical role. Or that there isn't an ongoing need for qualified and caring foster parents.

"There is always a need, as we look at it," said Brenden Hargett, program manager of clinical operations for DSS.

"The bigger the pool, the better for us. It helps us find the best matches."

Of course, government intervention should be a last resort.

There is, however, a delicate balance. Sometimes a family member isn't the best option.

It wasn't in the case of 4-year-old Kali Martin. Kali died on March 18 from a blow to the head while in the care of a cousin. Kali's cousin and the cousin's fiance have been charged with first-degree murder. Kali's mother was in prison at the time of the incident.

Kali's story is tragic and disturbing. By and large, however, more thoughtful approaches to child custody seem to be working.

If there are ways to build healthy families before their foundations begin to crumble, DSS is right to pursue them.