COLUMBUS, Ga.- Inside the courtroom of Judge Gil McBride, members of the Justice Reform Team, citizens and others gathered to speak on trying to better the foster care system for the area. This was the second meeting to discuss the problem.

They hope to increase the number of foster parents and decrease the number of children in foster care.

Currently, there are more than 530 kids in foster care in Muscogee County; three times more than where it was four years ago. Advocates say that once solutions are in place to help the issues, it will make a big impact. “It’s going to be very heartwarming to know that the effort that we’ve made not only today, but ongoing and moving forward has truly impacted our community so that our children are not only here in Columbus, not only here in Muscogee County but so that we see stability so that we really see a decrease in the number of children who have situations that escalate to a need for foster care,” DFCS Regional Director of District 8, Marva Reed said.

The next meeting is scheduled for March 25th at 1:30 p.m. in Judge Gil McBride’s courtroom on the 11th floor of the Government Center.