California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care

Timeline and Activities

"I think even me as a worker the first time I went into court, I was just blown away. And they're so fast and the terms they use...I didn't know what was going on."

Social worker, Southern California

The Blue Ribbon Commission has met quarterly for two years. In plenary meetings and in public hearings, focus groups and meetings with stakeholders throughout the state, commissioners and staff have reached out to those who know the system best for their experiences, insight, and recommendations.

Blue Ribbon Commission Activities Timeline (PDF, 206 KB)

Commissioners have heard from youth and parents in the system; foster parents, kinship caregivers, and social workers; and judges, attorneys, and CASA volunteers (Court Appointed Special Advocates) . They are the critical players who have helped the commissioners bring their principles and values to life and turn them into concrete proposals for change.

In addition to quarterly meetings over two years (see Meetings page for more information), the commission targeted additional opportunities to gain information and new perspectives. Key activities have included:

• A youth summit at Occidental College, which brought commissioners together with current and former foster youth, child welfare professionals, advocates, judges, and other court decision makers. The summit highlighted the importance of youth participation in the development of permanency plans and ways to empower and enhance the voice of youth in the process.
• A site visit to San Francisco's Unified Family Court, meeting with judicial officers and touring courtrooms.
• A summit on the educational needs of foster youth.
• A series of focus groups in English and Spanish, with parents, relative caregivers, and nonrelative caregivers.
• Two symposia to get input from social workers from Northern and Southern California.
• A public hearing with state legislators in Sacramento, in which commissioners heard testimony from youth, parents, caregivers, and court officials, all of whom made concrete recommendations for improvement.
• A visit to courts in Utah and Colorado to learn how they use performance measures and link the data systems of the courts and child welfare.
• A visit to the California Institution for Women to discuss issues relevant to foster children whose parents are incarcerated.

Commissioners formed four subcommittees to carry out their work:

• Court Oversight—To review issues related to policies and procedures in the trial and appellate courts and the overall role of the juvenile courts in the state's child welfare system.
• Funding and Resources—To consider measures to ensure that resources are available to reach goals for families set by the courts, child welfare agencies, and the commission.
• Accountability for Better Outcomes—To consider current and future initiatives to ensure accountability for courts and agencies throughout the foster-care system on both the local and state levels.
• Case Management and Data Exchange Systems—To explore case management and data needs in courts and agencies and to achieve effective communication and sharing of data across agencies and systems.

With release of the draft recommendations on March 14, 2008, the commission invited comments from the public and interested stakeholders. Following the public comment period, the commission will meet in June 2008 to develop a final set of recommendations for submission to the Judicial Council in August 2008.