State of Our Children: Los Angeles 2013

January 23, 2013

State of Our Children: Los Angeles 2013

Symposium Notes

Speaker:Andrew Bridge,Executive Director, Child Welfare Initiative

Facts about the child welfare system

Nationally, there are 425,000 kids in the child welfare system
LA County has more children and youth in the child welfare system than any other jurisdiction - with around 35,000 children in foster care, group homes, etc.
LA County spendsan estimated $1.8 billion each year on its foster care system
LA County has an estimated child welfare staff of 7,000
Every child who enters the child welfare system will cost LA County $42,000
Thousands of children and youth are raised in the welfare system.

Andrew Bridge was raised in the LA County child welfare system.

2 factors to look at

Where are the children put?
How are they left?

Where are the children put?

The foster families who are responsible for the care and feeding of these foster children are on the whole poorer and less educated.
30% of the households having foster children receive public assistance
50% of foster care families don’t have a high school diploma

How are they left?

A study was done last year to examine what happens to foster children when they leave the systems

50% of the children leave without a plan
50% are not educated on how to make health care decisions
1 in 5 don’t meet graduation requirements
80% of these foster care youth have no job experience

How can they make the decisions of employment, school and life with no experience and no contacts?

To solve these issues, don’t need more money

Can change foster care to be more tailored – use some of these suggestions that others have done

Recruit better families
Require training for DCFS
Change how fund housing providers

None of these changes will make things perfect

But failure to ask for change means we approve it

Suggestion 1 – How do you become a foster parent?

LA County has an old model – market to the masses. They know they get a low response. Why not recruit from the group they know they like
We know the qualities that are needed in a foster parent: empathy, love, concern, teamwork. Other jurisdictions test for these qualities. Why not us?

Foster parents don’t always learn the lessons they need to

Suggestion 2 – Change how foster care is related to homelessness

DCFS should have flexible funding. They cannot provide services until a child is removed from the home, but some kids are removed solely because of poverty and homelessness.
LA County is considering adopting the Child Welfare Waiver that will allow flexibility in spending. This would allow DCFS to protect the child (e.g. by supplying housing) and not have to remove the kid from the parent’s custody

Current federal policy invests in family risk only when the child is removed from custody. The waiver would allow LA County to invest in the front end.

Money can be coercive. Prior to the waiver LA County could only invest when the child was removed from the parent

Suggestion 3 – Know when privacy hurts vs. helps

There are many rules about letting agencies/schools, etc. know when a child is in foster care. But not knowing this prevents some agencies from being able to offer help.
Cuts in the court will also affect this decision making

He thanked ECF, Public Counsel and the Alliance for the recently approved project to provide wrap around services to adopted children. Says LA County has made substantial efforts to shorten the timeframe for adoptions.

Felt that aged out issues such as homelessness are remedial issues. Focus should be on family strengthening (e.g. First 5’s efforts with Best Start Communities)

In closing statements, felt that one of things foster care and kin care parents need is access to childcare. Attention to 0-5 and providing stability for key for children’s success.

He recounted his 11 years in the LA foster care systems, being raised by his grandmother when he was under 5 while his parents were in prison, being homeless with his mother here in LA and then how his experience in high school gave him stability.

Everychild Foundation Public Policy Committee’s Inaugural Children’s Symposium