The country's economic woes are putting pressure on foster care as the number of parents willing to receive children is not meeting demand. Khosi Msibi‚ manager of alternative care at the Gauteng department of social development‚ spoke to TMG Digital about the challenges faced by social workers in finding homes for children as they get abandoned almost every day.Prostitution‚ substance abuse and exploitation some of problems faced by foster children“We have more children that need placement and there is a shortage of prospective foster parents. We don't have so many people that are coming in to apply for foster placement. One reason is because of the economic status of the country. It is very expensive to raise a child.“Nevertheless‚ there are still those people who are doing it out of ubuntu. While the state is helping every month by giving the foster parent a grant‚ that is not enough to meet all the needs of the child‚” said Msibi.Although she could not provide the figures for the demand‚ Msibi said the increase had forced the department to embark on a drive to recruit foster parents.“We go to different churches‚ community organisations and forums to recruit prospective foster parents. After the foster parent is recruited‚ we screen their fitness as prescribed in the legislation and then they get trained‚” she said.The training is aimed at preparing the parent to handle children’s behaviour and getting ready for the adjustment of living with a child.Ultimately‚ the department ends up with a bank of eligible foster parents.But this is still not enough to meet the demand for the department in the province with the biggest inward migration of people from the rest of the continent.“The demand is rising almost every day. During winter‚ when people do not have proper shelter‚ for whatever reason‚ they abandon their children with the view that somebody who is better resourced will take care of the child. Towards the festive season the number of abandoned children also increases.“Some of the young mothers from neighbouring countries have families who are not aware that they have children. So they abandon the children and those children need placement‚” Msibi added.She urged people to consider foster parenting to help the state help the children...