ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Orange County has announced it is shutting down one of its county-run foster homes because it's costing taxpayers too much money, up to $80,000 a year per child.
Laurel Hill will be closing its doors at the end of June. The four kids who live there will go to Greater Oaks Village, but that group could close its doors as well.
Orange County has been running the Greater Oaks Village foster care facility for children between the ages of 6 and 18 since 1924.
It costs more than $5 million to run both Greater Oaks and Laurel Hill. The county will save about $750,000 by closing Laurel Hill. But it says funding for Greater Oaks Village is in danger as well.
"What is best for the kids is not always what's right for the county," said County Commissioner Edwards.
"It costs up to $80,000 a year to house each child. There are currently 44 kids in the homes. They have capacity for 60," said Edwards.
Jaleecia Dawkins has been at Greater Oaks Village for the past two years. She had been in an abusive house, in and out of the juvenile system, and was a runaway.
"I was dealing with things in a way I knew how to act out and be violent to people," Dawkins said. She says she started to believe what people told her and had low self-esteem.
Dawkins turned her life around and is now the first member in her family to go to college. She will be starting at FSU in the fall.
Board members say cutting the funding to this program would be an injustice to the children. But commissioners say outside agencies can do the job for less and maybe do it better than the county.
DCF also contributes to the funding. Commissioners will talk about this issue later this summer.
WFTV
