DRUG-ADDICTED BABIES OVERLOAD SYSTEM

Foster-Care Needs Equally Critical In Vancouver

An extreme shortage of foster homes in the Victoria area means
drug-addicted babies are being born homeless.

"Babies are being born right now with no place to go," said Erin
Brule, recruitment coordinator with the Foster Parent Support Services
Society.

"We know that deciding to become a foster parent takes time. We don't
have time.

"We're in a crisis. It's a strain on the babies and our foster
families."

A few weeks ago, the society identified about 12 unborn Victoria-area
babies who had likely been exposed to drugs in their mothers' wombs.

Typically, the at-risk infants would be moved to a specialized foster
home after going through withdrawal in the hospital after birth. But a
shortage of foster parents with the training to care for the infants
has the society worried.

The shortage has meant the babies are being kept in the hospital
longer, while some foster families are being asked to take two babies.

To foster a drug-addicted baby, parents must provide a two-parent
home, have one caregiver available full-time and have no other
children under age 10.

"Becoming a foster parent is a labour of love," said Brule. "You're
asking people to change their entire lives for the baby . . . But the
parents need to know they are making an incredible impact."

A Vancouver Island mother who has fostered more than a dozen babies
over the years said she has received more from the children than she's
given them.

"It's taught us as a family to hold our values near and dear, but not
to judge others," said the mother, who asked not to be named to
protect the identity of the two young boys she is currently fostering.

"It's challenging, there's no doubt, but it's also rewarding," she
said. "We now have these two little boys that we just adore. They
bring us so much joy."

Crystal meth is being blamed for the spike in at-risk births in
Victoria.

"The number of babies we're seeing always fluctuates," said Brule.
"But we're seeing more babies born to crystal-meth users. It's very
sad."

The babies often cry for hours on end and are easily over-stimulated
by light, noise and activity. Sometimes they're born with serious
physical disabilities as well.

"It's not an easy thing to care for these babies," said Mavis Bifano,
a director with the South Fraser Safe Babies Society which provides
training and support to foster parents. "It's certainly not something
everyone can do."

Bifano said the shortage of foster homes isn't limited to Vancouver
Island.

"Victoria has nowhere near the number of babies that we see on the
mainland," she said. "The need is very, very great. We're always just
making do."