SPRINGFIELD - If you thought conventional parenthood was pricey, trying being a foster parent too.

Gloria Davis of Ivesdale dishes out about $150 a month on each of her foster children to make sure they have more than just the clothes on their back and a healthier diet than the sugary snacks they're used to.

To make each child even more expensive, Davis insists they keep the clothes and shoes she buys for them while they stay with her family.

"The price of everything is going up. It's just so expensive," said Davis, who along with her husband, Chuck, will add the cost of college tuition for their own 17-year-old daughter to their list of existing expenses.

To help relieve some of those costs, lawmakers in Springfield are considering a $24 million proposal to provide Illinois' 7,400 foster families an additional $145 per foster child.

State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, says families that take on the extra responsibility of caring for other people's children deserve some relief while the economy limps along.

"It's tough. What they do is not easy and they deserve a hand," said Righter, who is co-sponsoring the measure.

Davis says she would appreciate the help.

"Well honestly, I love these kids, I had a crappy childhood myself, my father was an alcoholic and I was the youngest of eight kids," said Davis, who has made her home a haven for foster children and large groups of siblings. "You just want to love them all you can. It's not their fault, and if we don't help them, then who will?"

Some of the Davis' foster children have required more care than just clothes and groceries. Many have complicated pharmaceutical requirements and therapy sessions halfway across the county.

Along with the increasing price of bread, milk and eggs, the Davis' budget is forced to include the exponential cost of rising gas prices. Now $150 a month doesn't buy what it used to in 1999 when the Davis' welcomed their first of the 50 foster kids they've cared for since then.

Margaret Berglind, chief executive of the Child Care Association of America, says the Davis' are lucky to get away with spending just $150 a month out of their own pocket. Berglind says on average, families spend just shy of $300 a month on foster children.

"The foster family budget reality is a dozen eggs are 38 percent more expensive than last year, a gallon of milk 30 percent more expensive, a pound-loaf of wheat bread, 24 percent," said Berglind. "The governor's budget blatantly ignores that Illinois foster families are facing the fastest-rising food prices in 17 years."

The Illinois House endorsed the measure, 105-6, on April 8. It now awaits debate in the Senate.

Kartikay Mehrotra can be reached at kartikay.mehrotra@lee.net or 789-0865.