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This article was published 9/10/2014 (2173 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The number of children in care of provincial child and family services agencies now exceeds 10,000.

According to the Family Services Department annual report released today, the total number of kids in foster homes, group homes and emergency shelters stood at 10,293 as of March 31.

That compares with 9,940 a year earlier.

The percentage of Manitoba children in care of the CFS system also continues to rise. It now stands at 3.6 per cent, compared with 1.9 per cent in 2001.

The report said the number of children in care is driven by many factors, including the composition and growth rate of the Manitoba population, economic conditions, employment rates, family supports and "societal changes."

While the numbers of kids in CFS care continued to rise, the number of departmental staff fell slightly. The report lists 2,088 full-time equivalent positions compared with 2,116 the last year and 2,113 in 2010.

Ten aboriginal-run CFS agencies under the umbrella of the Southern First Nations Network of Care (Southern Authority) supervised 4,491 children in care. Agencies operating under the First Nation North Authority cared for 3,019 kids, while Metis family service agencies looked after 1,059. Other CFS agencies throughout Manitoba operating under the General Authority were responsible for 1,724 kids in care.

Meanwhile, the number of licensed and provincially funded child protection beds dropped slightly. There were 766 licensed beds as of March 31, compared with 770 the previous year. The number of provincially funded beds declined over the same period to 243 from 249, according to the report.