The Foster Care System Is Flooded With Children Of The Opioid Epidemic
Judge Marilyn Moores presides over the Indianapolis juvenile court. She tells NPR's Scott Simon that the influx of children into the foster care system because of the opioid crisis is overwhelming.
The U.S. foster care system is overwhelmed, in part because America's opioid crisis is overwhelming. Thousands of children have had to be taken out of the care of parents or a parent who is an addict.
Indiana is among the states that have seen the largest one-year increase in the number of children who need foster care. Judge Marilyn Moores, who heads the juvenile court in Marion Country, Indianapolis, says the health crisis is straining resources in Indiana.
"We've gone from having 2,500 children in care, three
