Recently, the Associated Press published a story reporting that pay for foster parents to reimburse them for expenses incurred in the care of foster children is woefully below the actual expenses. Such expenses include food, clothing, school supplies, sports and activity fees, toys, recreation and wear and tear on property.

According to the report, to meet such expenses, the foster parents of a 2-year-old in North Dakota would require $584 rather than the current rate of $370, $669 rather than $418 for a 9-year-old and $734 rather than $545 for a 16-year-old.

Foster parents do not take on that task in order to make a lot of money, but they should not have to lose money, either.

I can't think of any program from which the taxpayers get more bang for their buck than foster care. Foster parents take care of children, many of whom have special needs, for less than $15 per day, a dollar per hour if they get to sleep all night, which often is not the case.

A handful of states - Nevada, Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and the District of Columbia - come close to or exceed the required amount. North Dakota is among the 28 states that fall at least 50 percent short of the mark.

North Dakota is short of foster parents. That our Legislature refuses to reimburse them sufficiently has to be at least a part of the reason. I cannot believe that the people of North Dakota would want to continue to underfund such a vital program for our children.

As we enter the political season, voters need to ask the legislative and gubernatorial candidates if they intend to substantially raise the reimbursement rate for foster parents.