Herman Thomas Jr. became the foster care director at Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri for the St. Louis region in August.
He has more than 20 years of experience serving vulnerable youth and families, and most recently spent a decade as the deputy juvenile officer supervisor at the Family Juvenile Court of St. Louis city. In that role, he managed a team of officers, prepared court reports and oversaw cases for children in custody.
Lutheran is headquartered in St. Louis County, with regional offices in Columbia, Cape Girardeau, Springfield, Joplin and Kansas City. The statewide agency has 10 full-time case managers in the St. Louis region and five part-time positions. Thomas said there’s not only a need to fill positions, but there’s a glaring need for kids to be placed in loving homes.
According to the Missouri Department of Social Services, there were 11,639 children in the state’s foster care system as of September, and just under 1,700 were awaiting adoption. That month, 62 adoptions were finalized. Between October 2024 and September 2025, the number of kids in foster care in Missouri has increased by 2%. And adoptions have decreased by roughly 10% in that time frame.
Thomas sat down with STLPR's Lacretia Wimbley to discuss what can happen when placement homes are limited, as well as how the May 16 tornado has impacted the rendering of foster care services.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Lacretia Wimbley: How did the May 16 tornado impact families in foster care?
Herman Thomas Jr.: It was tragic because a lot of resources got shifted, rightfully so, to the victims of the tornadoes. So you had now where a parent, for an example, has to have appropriate housing as part of their court order services. Well now, because they've been impacted by the tornado, they no longer have appropriate housing.
Wimbley: Did any kids have to be taken from their homes?
Thomas: I don't recall us actually taking any child that was impacted by those tornadoes. It was a situation of, Can you call your uncle? Can you call your cousin? Can you call your best friend so we can keep that family intact?
Wimbley: The Missouri Department of Social Services reports that in most state counties, kids are staying in foster care longer than the federal standard, which is about a year. Why are kids staying in the system longer than they should?
Thomas: A multitude of reasons. Some parents, not all, now view (it as), "Wow, I get to have my child be in the system," and let's say, for example, that child is now with a relative. "I get to live my best life now," and that's not the case across the board. With older youth (they think), "Now, this is the first time I've had three meals a day. This is the first time I've been able to be a teenager. This is the first time I can go to a homecoming dance, and, you know, be able to buy something new to wear to this school event. I just get to be a teenager." So a lot of times they will inform the court, Your Honor, I don't want to go home. I'm not ready to go home. I just, you know, I want to reap all the benefits that I can get remaining in care. So I would rather stay in care.
Wimbley: What would you say are some of the top issues that foster kids are facing in Missouri today?
Thomas: Placement, placement of homes. The struggle is real. I heard so many horror stories about kids having to sleep in offices, case managers, you know, spending the nights in hotels with kids. And when I came here, I saw that firsthand.
Wimbley: So what do you all do in those situations? I mean, obviously, the kids have to have somewhere to go. Has it happened recently?
Thomas: About two, three weeks ago, we had kids in the office for a straight two weeks of trying to find placement. So a few things we do, an all hands on deck. All staff is required to be in the office. All staff is required to sit with the child. Of course, we feed them, play games with them if they want to, but we're all here. We also utilize another establishment in the event that we need someone to or they actually need to sleep somewhere overnight, and so while it's not ideal for staff to spend a night in the office, we do have another place that we can send kids.
Wimbley: What's the most rewarding part of doing the work you do?
Thomas: When that child came into care and that parent was at their lowest, and that child gets to see mom and dad again, as mom and dad and not a perpetrator, or somebody that hit me or somebody that didn't feed me. When the system works, because I think there's a lot of stories when the system don't work, but there's a lot of stories when the system does work as well. So when I can have those full circle moments of these foster families, of these kids and kiddos, I think that's awesome.
