Volume 16

For Immediate Release Friday, June 25, 2004
Contact: Gina Russo, The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, 202.687.0697

California Judicial Council Commends Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care

Pledges to work towards Commission goals of improving outcomes for children in foster care, urges Congressional action on recommendations

Washington, D.C. – One month after the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care released far-reaching recommendations to overhaul the nation's foster care system, the California Judicial Council unanimously approved a resolution commending these recommendations.

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Read the resolution
Judicial Council of California press release
More information from the California courts

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Released today, the resolution pledges that the California judicial branch "will work with state and local entities and community partners to realize the Commission goals, and urge Congress to act on the recommendations."

The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, a national, nonpartisan panel funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and composed of leading experts in child welfare, undertook the first-ever, comprehensive assessment of two key aspects of the foster care system: a court system that lacks sufficient tools, information, and accountability necessary to move children swiftly out of foster care and into permanent homes, and a federal financing structure that encourages an over-reliance on placement of children in foster care at the expense of other more permanent options for children who have been abused or neglected. Reform in these two areas, the Commission determined, will have far-reaching effects for children in foster care and is a critical first step to solving many other problems that plague the child welfare system.

The resolution commending the Commission's work was approved by the 28-member Judicial Council, whose members include Ronald M. George, Chief Justice of California, and William C. Vickrey, Administrative Director for the California Courts and a member of the Pew Commission.

California has the nation's highest number of children in foster care -- nearly 100,000 -- or nineteen percent of all children in care. Not only does the state have the highest number of children in foster care, but large numbers tend to linger in care for many years. Twelve percent of children in California's foster care system remain in care for more than four years.

"The Commission applauds the Judicial Council's continuing determination to help the children of California get safe and permanent homes," stated Commission Chairman Bill Frenzel (R-MN), a twenty-year veteran of Congress. "The Commission's recommendations focus on what states and courts must do to help the children in their care - and their success depends on the commitment of all of those in a position to make a difference."

The Commission's court recommendations call for:

• Adoption of court performance measures by every dependency court to ensure that they can track and analyze their caseloads, increase accountability for improved outcomes for children, and inform decisions about the allocation of court resources;
• Incentives and requirements for effective collaboration between courts and child welfare agencies on behalf of children in foster care;
• A strong voice for children and parents in court and effective representation by better trained attorneys and volunteer advocates;
• Leadership from Chief Justices and other state court leaders in organizing their court systems to better serve children, provide training for judges, and promote more effective standards for dependency courts, judges, and attorneys.

The key components of the Commission's financing recommendations are:

• Preserving federal foster care maintenance and adoption assistance as an entitlement and expanding it to all children, regardless of their birth families' income and including Indian children and children in the U.S. territories;
• Providing federal guardianship assistance to all children who leave foster care to live with a permanent legal guardian when a court has explicitly determined that neither reunification nor adoption are feasible permanence options;
• Helping states build a range of services from prevention, to treatment, to post-permanence by (1) creating a flexible, indexed Safe Children, Strong Families Grant from what is currently included in Title IV-B and the administration and training components of Title IV-E; and (2) allowing states to "reinvest" federal and state foster care dollars into other child welfare services if they safely reduce their use of foster care;
• Encouraging innovation by expanding and simplifying the federal waiver process and providing incentives to states that (1) make and maintain improvements in their child welfare workforce and (2) increase all forms of safe permanence; and
• Strengthening the current Child and Family Services Review process to increase states' accountability for improving outcomes for children.

The Commission's financing recommendations require stronger accountability for how public dollars are used to protect and support children who have suffered abuse and neglect. They require redirection of current funding, and give states the freedom to decide whether foster care is the right choice for an individual child, or whether there are other options that might keep children safe and secure.

About the Pew Commission

The nonpartisan Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care was launched on May 7, 2003. Supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts to the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute, the panel includes some of the nation's leading child welfare experts. The panel was charged with developing practical, evidence-based recommendations related to federal financing and court oversight of child welfare to improve outcomes for children in foster care, particularly to expedite the movement of children from foster care to safe, permanent families and to prevent unnecessary placements in foster care.

For additional information about the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, or to obtain a copy of its report, go to: www.pewfostercare.org. Please contact Gina Russo at 202-687-0697 or mediaiq@comcast.net with press requests.

For additional information about the Judicial Council of California, contact Lynn Holton at 415-865-7740.