IT SEEMS LIKE WE OUGHT TO DO SOMETHING

Clearly our system is broken in many ways. Probably the most obvious fix would be to hire more REALLY GOOD social workers. And how do we do that? We've got a shortage because they're in demand. They're in demand because they aren't paid enough. (Yes, I know we need to work on getting the number of kids in foster care down too) Much like our overcrowded schools, there's an obvious answer. Why don't we fix it? Why does government keep diverting our tax money rather than investing it in the future (our children)? If we get noisy enough about this, maybe becoming a social worker will become the elite job it should be, competition in the workforce will increase, thus increasing the type of care our kids will get. With enough GOOD workers, the kids will get the care they need and permanent homes will be found quicker. Then the domino effect - the numbers of kids in the system will decrease, and we will have a healthier next-generation.