'It's a scramble': A look at Colorado foster care as the need for foster homes grows

DENVER — Kendall Gizinski lives in a quiet neighborhood in Erie. Her home is anything but.

Every day, Gizinski tries to shepherd Alex, Carla and Damien — three siblings who came into her life in the most hectic way.

"They were an emergency placement," said Gizinski. "I got the call, and two hours later, they were at my front door."

The State of Colorado took Alex, Carla and Damien away from their birth parents in 2022. The trio was suffering from medical neglect, and their birth parents were recovering from substance abuse.

The children were in need of an immediate foster home, and Gizinski was happy to take them as an emergency replacement.

Gizinski always knew she would be a foster mother. As a child, she'd pretend that her toy dolls were foster children. As an adult, she's fostered 20 children.

In the case of Alex, Carla and Damien, the severe trauma of their placement made it difficult for Gizinski to get close.

"I woke up and a police officer was just shaking me," Alex recalled. "It was really scary."

The siblings would rarely speak, except for Alex. As the oldest, he would speak for his younger siblings, often acting as a parent instead of a brother. Eventually, Gizinski was able to work her way into their hearts and vice versa.

"I fell in love with their personalities, their differences, their wackiness and cuckooness," said Gizinski. "They never left."

Last year, Gizinski officially adopted the siblings and they've built a lifetime of beautiful memories together.

Unfortunately, the trio's story is all too common in Colorado: children in need of a home at the last moment and the state desperately trying to find an adult willing to take them in. If a home isn't found in time, the children might be forced to sleep at a Colorado Department of Human Services office or at their case worker's home.

"Unfortunately that's the reality," said Amos Espinosa, a foster care home supervisor. "It's a scramble."

Espinosa is a project manager at Griffith Centers for Children in Northglenn, a nonprofit that supports 15 foster families. His responsibilities include recruitment, a process that's become more difficult, according to Espinosa. He said recruits agree to become foster parents but leave the system after a negative first experience.

"It's a constant revolving door," said Espinosa. "We might be losing more foster parents than we're gaining."

Data from the Colorado Office of Children, Youth and Families shows a 12 percent annual attrition rate of foster parents for the past three years. In May 2023, there were 2,008 licensed foster homes in the state. At the same time, there were 3,535 children in the foster care system.

The licensing process for foster parents is lengthy and intense. Recruits are required to undergo background checks, interviews and regular home inspections. Espinosa estimated that the licensing process could be as short as three months, but more than likely could take up to a year.

"The need is constantly growing, but the interest that we're gaining from people, doesn't seem to be growing much," said Espinosa.

Although the need for foster parents is growing, Colorado officials are doing their best to address the shortage of homes. In the past year, the state reunited more than 2,200 foster children with a biological family member.

"We set a goal that 50% of initial placements for children and young people who have to be placed out of the home would be with their kin, and we met that goal in 2024," said Korey Elger with the Colorado Division of Child Welfare.

The data Elger presented paints an encouraging picture for Colorado's foster future. Nearly 60 percent of children who entered foster care so far this year were initially placed with a family member, and 40 percent remained with family as of May.

Elger argued that reunification is the best case scenario for a foster child. In 2023, Colorado discharged 2,239 children from foster care to be reunited with family.

"We really are charged with trying to keep them with their families at all costs," said Elger.

Although reunification is the goal, the results are often mixed.

"The crux of the whole process is to have the parents change while the child is changing," said Kenneth Lingle, the chief programs officer at Griffith Center. "A lot of the times they try, but it's easy to slip back."

State data shows that 17 percent of children who exited Colorado foster care in 2023 re-entered the system.

It's a problem not without consequences. As children continue to return to foster care, their age starts to become a factor. The older a foster child, the more likely they'll see multiple placements.

Colorado foster children between the ages of 12 and 14 average three foster home placements, while those 15 and older average four placements.

"We have to be very careful around the match between the child and the family," said Lingle.

If a foster child is reunited with family too quickly, Lingle argues it can start a vicious cycle.

"If you have the children improve in a completely different environment and then they go back and face the challenges in their home environment and aren't prepared for it, it's likely that it won't be successful," said Lingle.

In Gizinski's home, the turbulence of foster care is in the past. Alex has adjusted to his role of big brother instead of parent, and Carla and Damien are anything but quiet.

"They're a handful," said Gizinski.

Although 20 children have come and gone, Gizinski views her home as a one-stop shop. If a foster child is placed in her care, they're staying until the parents are ready to take them back. Her little trio is the prime example.

Unable to return to their parents, Gizinski decided to make her home the permanent safe space for Alex, Carla and Damien.

"I'm the one-stop foster mom," said Gizinski.

The siblings feel blessed to have traded a life of turbulence for permanence.

"Anyone would be lucky to have her as a mom," said Alex.

Those interested in becoming a foster parent can find resources and other information through this link .