AN OVERVIEW

1. ANOVERVIEW California Workforce Association Youth ConferenceFebruary 2004

2. The Case for Change • 650,000 reported cases of child abuse/neglect each year • 700,000 children in contact with CWS annually • 91,000 children in foster care • 35% of foster children experience 3 or more placements • Substance abuse factors into 80% of child maltreatment cases • 7% of state’s children are African-American but 30% of children in CWS

3. California’s Challenge • California has • 13% of nation’s child population • 20% of nation’s foster care population • No fundamental change in CWS system for 20 years • Despite 32% funding increase for CWS, social worker caseloads too high to do the job

4. Responding to the Challenge • CWS Stakeholders Group formed through legislation in July 2000 • Broad, inclusive group of 60 stakeholders • Charged with examining current CWS system and making recommendations for improvements

5. CWS Reform Landscape • Stakeholders Group/CWS Redesign: 2000-2003 • California Child Welfare Outcomes and Accountability Act (AB636, C-CFSR): 2001 • Federal Performance Improvement Plan (PIP): 2003

6. What will Success look like? • Children are safer • Families are stronger • Youth are supported • Services are more responsive • Results are more fair and equitable • Children experience greater stability • Communities share responsibility for child welfare • Families realize their potential

7. The new vision for CWS A vision of every child living in a safe, stable, permanent home, nurtured by healthy families and strong communities

8. Key Outcome Indicators • Fewer children are abused/neglected • Fewer children in foster care • Fewer children re-enter foster care • Fewer multiple placements for children in foster care • Reduced length of time to reunify children with parents or caretakers • Reduced length of time to achieve adoption (less than 24 months) • Increased levels of health/education support for children in foster care

9. CWS Redesign Objectives “Build Upon the Best – Reinvent the Rest” 9 Objectives

10. Objective #1: Partner to prevent child abuse and neglect • Establish partnerships: • State, county and community levels • Develop local networks of resources and opportunities • Use flexible funding strategies

11. Partners and Systems • State interagency child welfare team • Public-private partnership: CDSS and Foundation Consortium for California’s Children & Youth • Foster youth & former foster youth • Counties and local communities • Champions for Children

12. Objective #2: Act early to preserve and strengthen families • New intake structure • Contract with public and private agencies to share responsibility • Use standardized approach for safety assessment • Promote more contact with families • Comprehensive assessment • Team decision-making; engage families • Provide continuum of services

13. Current Intake Structure • Each year: • 650,000 hotline calls • 92% of calls receive no services • 40% of calls are repeat referrals • CWS funding and policies: can only intervene in most serious cases • Need: early intervention/individualized response

14. New Intake Structure • Fundamental change – at heart of Redesign • Changes from “one size fits all” model of the past • Customizes services/support for at-risk families • Uses community-based, multidisciplinary teams • Sets up 3 pathways for response

15. Pathways for Response At intake (enhanced hotline): • Community response and follow-up (cases diverted from traditional CWS response) • CWS response (low to moderate level of risk) • CWS high-risk response (child is removed from home)

16. Objective #3: Broaden efforts to restore family capacity • Inclusive, comprehensive case planning • Early, safe restoration of families • Sufficient legal advocacy • Use less adversarial approaches • Engage extended families as partners • Extend deadline for case plans from 30 to 60 days

17. Objective #4: Strengthen alternatives to rebuild permanent families for children • Inclusive, flexible and comprehensive case planning • Emphasize birth family connections • “Forever Families” for every child

18. Objective #5: Systematically prepare youth for success in adulthood • Inclusive, flexible and comprehensive case planning • Strong and enduring ties for every youth • Community network of services and supports • “Guaranteed preparation package” for every youth at age 18

19. Comprehensive Youth Transition Plan Identity Formation Housing Supportive Relationship Community Connections Employment YOUTH Education Physical & Mental Health Life Skills

20. Guaranteed Youth Preparation Package • A healthy sense of cultural and personal identity • A close, positive and lasting relationship with at least one adult • Other supportive relationships and community connections • Access to physical and mental health services • High school diploma, equivalency certificate, or GED • Income sufficient to meet basic needs • A safe and stable living situation

21. Youth-Led Team Approach • Engages youth in decision making for their future • Youth invites several positive adults to assist in transition planning • Creates a power-sharing dynamic • Infuses youth development principles into case planning

22. SYSTEMS IMPROVEMENT OBJECTIVES Objective #6: Affect change through excellence in workforce Objective #7: Strengthen interagency partnerships at the state and local levels Objective #8: Expand and restructure child welfare financing Objective #9: Achieve better outcomes through accountability

23. Implementation • In October 2003, CDSS selected 11 counties for “Cohort 1” Redesign implementation. • The “Cohort 1” counties are developing and implementing all key principles and elements of the CWS Redesign, including a standardized approach to safety and a differential response system.

24. California Child Welfare Outcomes and Accountability System (AB 636) • A new outcomes-based review system – California Children and Family Services Review (C-CFSR) • State develops county-based performance targets based on set of indicators • Quarterly reports – continuous measurement and feedback • Parallels federal CFSR outcomes, but expands on indicators • Measures progress and impact of Redesign

25. Promoting Permanence for Foster Youth (AB 408) • Ensure that all children in foster care retain and/or establish relationships with important individuals in their lives; • Ensure that no youth leaves the foster system without a lifelong connection to a committed, caring adult; • Implement new requirements on the court, the social workers and attorneys to assure permanence and stability for foster youth; • Assure that children 10 years of age or older receive notice of and have the right to attend their court proceedings.

26. Ensuring Educational Rights and Stability for Foster Youth (AB 490) Educators, county placing agencies, care providers, advocates, and the juvenile courts shall work together to: • maintain stable school placements; • ensure that each pupil is placed in the least restrictive educational programs; • ensure foster youth access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils

27. ALL YOUTH – ONE SYSTEM FRAMEWORK …AND FOSTER YOUTH

28. ALL YOUTH – ONE SYSTEM FRAMEWORK…And Foster Youth • Academic Excellence • May attend many schools • May lack educational support and motivation • Impact of childhood trauma • Possible undiagnosed learning disabilities

29. ALL YOUTH – ONE SYSTEM FRAMEWORK …And Foster Youth • CAREER PREPARATION • Lack of basic skills – phone; transportation • Hands-on experiences limited by system • Greatest predictor of future success is a job during high school

30. ALL YOUTH – ONE SYSTEM FRAMEWORK …And Foster Youth • YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT • May lack decision-making skills • Lack of positive role models • Independent Living Skills programming is often classroom-based

31. ALL YOUTH – ONE SYSTEM FRAMEWORK …And Foster Youth • COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH • Child Welfare and Workforce Systems must partner to create a truly comprehensive system for foster youth