“FOSTERING RESULTS” in Foster Care

In June, 2003, the Pew Charitable Trusts launched an initiative for outreach and public education about foster care system reform.  This national effort, sponsored by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois, is spearheaded by selected partner organizations from 10 states.

The campaign -- Fostering Results -- seeks to focus public attention on two specific issues related to foster care reform:

Fostering Results’ partners in this effort are influential national and local leaders, including judges, child welfare directors and caseworkers, and advocates for youth and for foster, birth and adoptive families.  The partners are calling attention to foster financing and court issues through many avenues, including public meetings, professional symposia, media reports, and targeted contacts with organizations and individuals dedicated to child welfare system improvement.

On July 1^st, Fostering Results released the results of a groundbreaking survey of more than 2,200 U.S. judges who hear child abuse and neglect cases. “Judges are often hesitant to talk outside the courtroom about their problems and concerns inside the courtroom,” said retired Judge Nancy Sidote Salyers, former Presiding Judge of the Cook County (IL) Juvenile Court’s Child Protection Division and Co-Director of Fostering Results.  “The large number of judges who responded to our survey and their remarkable candor paint an unprecedented ‘judges-eye-view’ of the challenges facing our nation’s child welfare system.” 

The survey provides new perspectives on how judges who hear child dependency cases view their own courtrooms and hurdles to providing permanent families for children in foster care.  Among the survey’s key findings:

For more information on the survey and for complete survey results, please Click HERE.

Concurrent with Fostering Results’ efforts, the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care has developed sweeping recommendations, released May 18th, for policy changes to support and encourage effective practices in case management and encourage reform in federal foster care financing.

The foster care financing recommendations are intended to give states a reliable, flexible source of funding; expand federal support for permanency; provide new incentives for states to move children quickly and safely from foster care to permanent families; encourage innovation and best practices.  Specifically, the Commission recommends:

In relation to court oversight, the Commission recommends:

The National Center for Adoption Law and Policy is proud to be working on this effort in conjunction with Ohio’s Fostering Results partner, the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.  Together, NCALP and PCSAO are exploring innovative, data driven approaches to court management of child safety and permanency cases in Ohio and planning meetings and symposia for key stakeholders in the child welfare arena to discuss and debate the issues and to solidify their thinking on what constitutes the best judicial practice.  We believe these efforts will make a real difference in achieving better outcomes for our nation’s foster kids.