KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

A working group of more than 130 Arkansans with experience in child welfare and foster care released a list of 11 recommendations on Monday to improve the state’s foster system, which has long suffered from staffing and home shortages.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders created the working group by executive order in February. The group included the secretaries of education and public safety, mental health professionals and Every Child Arkansas, a statewide network of organizations that recruit and support foster families.

The group split into three subcommittees that each came up with recommendations, according to Monday’s report:

Prevention and mental health services
Foster care safety and permanency
Foster home recruitment and retention

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-09-19/governors-working-group-issues-suggestions-to-improve-arkansas-foster-care-system