California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care

Momentum for Reform

"You will have the chance to make real changes for California's
children in foster care."

William C. Vickrey, Administrative Director of the Courts,
speaking to the inaugural meeting of the Blue Ribbon Commission, March 2006

The timing is right for a statewide commission on foster care in California. The commission is building on several years of commitment and reform already taking place at the judicial, legislative, and executive levels in California.

For example:

• In 2001, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 636, requiring the California Department of Social Services and the counties to measure and improve outcomes for children and families. This bill, which built on a federal push for outcomes, provides counties with data reports and helps them monitor progress on a quarterly basis. The data also is available on the Center for Social Services Research Web site , ushering in a new era of transparency for child welfare.
• Public/private partnerships leveraged philanthropic support for child welfare reform.
• A statewide interagency team of deputy directors began meeting in 2003 to address the nuts and bolts of collaboration.
• In 2004, the Judicial Council created a pilot program to work in 10 counties to establish attorney caseload standards, address training issues and attorney performance standards, and improve attorney compensation.
• In 2006, Assembly Bill 2216 created the California Child Welfare Council , an advisory body of leaders from all branches of government and other stakeholders to focus on coordination across agencies and government systems. The Child Welfare Council, which held its first meeting in November 2007, is cochaired by Blue Ribbon Commission chair Justice Carlos R. Moreno and California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshé.

Progress has already begun. The number of children in foster care is down, from 108,000 children in care in the year 2000 to less than 80,000 in 2007. The commission has developed draft recommendations for change and along the way, a set of proposed court performance measures that cover juvenile dependency court performance in five areas: child safety, child permanency, well-being, hearing timeliness, and due process.

The draft recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission were released March 14, 2008 for public comment. The commission invites public input on the recommendations from stakeholders across the state.

What's Next?

The commission pledged that its recommendations would be politically viable and fiscally responsible. Following the public comment period, which ends May 13, 2008, the Blue Ribbon Commission will meet in June 2008 to consider the feedback from across the state. The commission will then submit final recommendations to the Judicial Council in August 2008 and develop an implementation plan that will help move the recommendations from ideas to reality.

The commission's life has been extended until June 2009 to support the recommendations as they are implemented. With direction from the Judicial Council, the policymaking body for the state's judicial branch, the commission will support early implementation steps such as integrating the proposals into local court structure and processes and assisting in the development of local county collaborations.