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MARQUETTE -- There are about 14,000 foster kids in Michigan according to the state's Department of Human Services.

Rochelle Riley, a writer who is passionate about Michigan's children, was in Marquette Friday, talking about the importance of foster parenting to a roomful of child advocates.

"If there are children who need our help, and more help than others, we've got to give it. If you think of the connection to you, and how it makes us have a better state, then it is worth it," said Riley.

A panel discussion followed Riley's presentation where audience members were able to ask questions about what it takes financially to be an adoptive parent.

One of the biggest concerns discussed at the conference was how much money foster parents receive from the state. Those numbers vary based on how old a child is, but most of the foster parents at the conference agree that those amounts just aren't enough.

For children up to 12 years old, foster parents get just over $14 a day. And for children ages 13 to 18, they get almost $18 a day.

"Most foster children have had a great deal of trauma in their lives, and they need the care. They need therapy, they need therapy, they need people to try and work with them and understand what's happening to them. And with the cuts that have gone through in the state, especially in the mental health care, there are no funds there," said Glenn Wing, a foster parent.

Governor Snyder has a proposal in the next fiscal year's budget plan that would increase the amount paid to foster and adoptive parents by three dollars per day.