".. perhaps there are not enough "straight" foster homes. ..If you could convince me that was true then I may agree."
The Dept of Community Services website in Sydney says: Currently, there is a national shortage of foster carers.
FosterClub USA comments: Between 1984 and 1993, the number of children in foster care has increased by 61 percent, while the number of non-relative foster parents available to care for children steadily declined. The result has been a shortage of foster parents to care for these youth.
This recent article from the Independent says: Shortage of foster parents leaves children unsettled By Maxine Frith, Social Affairs Correspondent; 08 May 2006
A chronic shortage of foster parents means that some children in care are being forced to move up to three times a year, research has shown. An extra 10,000 foster carers are needed to plug gaps in the service, campaigners say.