Foster Family Shortage Forces Athens Children Far From Home

A candlelight vigil last week highlighted the needs of hundreds of local children in the foster care system—some of whom are in the care of families hours away from their homes in Athens. Roughly 100 people walked from First Baptist Church to the Athens-Clarke County courthouse on Nov. 5 with candles in hand to represent each Athens-area child in the foster care system. Currently, 320 children from Clarke and Oconee counties are in foster care. The first annual Foster Care Candlelight Vigil was hosted by Athens-Oconee CASA to bring light to the growing number of children in the local foster care system. “We are seeing more and more children…