Photo: Jeffrey High

Local foster care committees in most of California’s 58 counties have begun preliminary work to implement reforms put forth by the state’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care. At a June meeting of the 45-member Commission, representatives from several counties made presentations about their work, including Orange, Solano, and Imperial counties.

Among the reforms underway are the formation of a girl’s delinquency court in Orange County; collaboration with a local Native American tribe to establish a new group home in Inyo County, where a disproportionate number of Native American children are in the juvenile court system; and an agreement between Imperial County and Baja, CA to better serve bi-national families in child welfare and family law cases.

"One of our lynchpin recommendations is the formation of these local foster care commissions … to help with local implementation of reforms and ensure that they are tailored to county needs," said California Supreme Court Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno, chair of the California Blue Ribbon Commission and himself a foster parent.

Local commissions are being formed in 50 counties, which sent a total of 400 participants to a summit meeting hosted by the state’s Blue Ribbon Commission last December. 

California Blue Ribbon Commission Issues Final Recommendations

The Blue Ribbon Commission issued its final recommendations and action plan last May for improving the state’s juvenile dependency court and child welfare system. It called for immediate implementation of certain reforms, including pending legislation that will extend supports to foster youth until age 21. The Judicial Council, the state’s judicial policymaking body, has approved the recommendations, and is expected to support several state laws that would take advantage of increased federal funding for foster care improvements provided in the Fostering Connections to Success Act passed by Congress last fall.  

Appointed by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George in 2006, the Commission has concluded its review of the courts’ role in foster care.  However, due to the Commission’s extensive recommendations and implementation plan, the Commission’s term has been extended for another three years.

After identifying a court and child welfare system plagued by staggering caseloads, rushed hearings, and other barriers that prevent foster children and their families from meaningful participation in court proceedings, the Commission made recommendations for improvements and an action plan to implement them.

The Commission’s 79 recommendations fall into four broad categories:

• reasonable efforts to prevent removal and achieve permanency
• court reform
• collaboration among courts and partnering agencies
• resources and funding

Among the key recommendations are:

• Flexibility in approving relative placements
• Extending support for youth transitioning out of foster care until age 21
• Reduction in judicial attorney and social worker caseloads
• Meaningful participation in court proceedings for children and their parents
• Greater flexibility in use of federal funds for child abuse prevention and services

"The urgent need for action on these recommendations cannot be overstated," said Justice Moreno. "Nearly half of California’s children in foster care have been in care for more than two years; 17 percent of them for more than three years. Too often, these children find themselves in a foster care limbo, shifted from placement to placement and separated from siblings, friends, and schools."

The Commission, California’s first statewide effort to focus on the court’s role in child welfare, has made substantial progress in implementing its recommendations, including:

• Recently enacted Fostering Connections to Success Act, which directly advances 20 of the Commission’s recommendations, including increased support for relative caregivers, continued support for foster youth until age 21, and increased educational and other supports. Passage of AB 12, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, would ensure that California takes advantage of these essential federal funding opportunities and implements these services on the state level.
• A key Commission recommendation – ensuring youth participation in court – has begun to be addressed through the passage of the AB 3051, which requires that children 10 and older be given the chance to appear and speak at dependency court hearings.  A number of local foster care commissions are working to support the bill’s implementation.
• A series of court performance measures have been approved and are being implemented in courts across the state.

The Commission sees the county foster care commissions as among the most crucial elements of the reform effort.

"Real change happens at the local level," said John O’Toole, Director of the National Center for Youth Law and a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission. "The Commision is very excited about the commitment of the counties to implement the recommendations put forth by the Commission."
 
The formation and work of several county commissions is well underway, including in:

Orange County

• A new "girls court," beginning Summer 2009, to work with 300 runaway girls.  Gender-responsive juvenile justice programs dealing with prostitution and other delinquent behavior are planned or already operating in other counties in the state, including San Mateo, Alameda, and Contra Costa
• Comprehension trainings to encourage hearing officers to use "plain English" and ensure the involved parties understand the content of their hearings and that all their questions are answered
• Drug testing coordination to alleviate the burden on parents to take multiple drug tests for different agencies
• Department of Education trainings for judges and lawyers so that they better understand the workings of the educational system
• A new risk assessment tool developed with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and implemented by the County Probation Department to address disproportionality in detention facilities

Inyo County

• A new group home in Bishop, CA, developed with the Bishop Paiute Tribe, to keep children in the local area, near their families, as they await foster placement.  The project relies on the new Tribal Court, which seeks to address the disproportionate number of Native Americans in the juvenile court system.

Solano County

• A children’s waiting room for the local dependency court
• Education on court processes for foster parents and caregivers
• Outreach to incarcerated parents otherwise excluded from dependency court processes

In Imperial County

• A Memo of Understanding with the State of Baja California to increase collaboration in handling cases involving bi-national families
• A directory of services addressing core community needs, developed with Quechan Tribal Social Services
• A video presentation aimed at recruiting and retaining foster parents