To the editor:

Saturday’s Public Form carried a letter from Matt Humphrey focusing attention on the need for foster families for abused and neglected children. As a child advocate, I celebrate the families who come forward and provide safety and comfort to the abused and neglected children in our community.

At the same time, Social and Rehabilitation Services reports 47 percent of the children placed into foster care during the second quarter of this fiscal year were removed for reasons other than abuse and neglect. This raises an important question about how our precious foster care resources are being used. Would there be a “crisis,” as Mr. Humphrey calls it, if only children who were abused or neglected and required an alternative family to provide a safe home were placed into care?

John Poertner,

Lawrence