 |
| Release Date:
June 23, 2004 |
Release Number:
34 |
Judicial Council Supports Proposals To Improve Outcomes for Foster Children
San Francisco—In a vote of support for the state’s foster children, the
Judicial Council of California today adopted a resolution that commends
the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care for its recent report and
recommendations to improve outcomes for children in foster care.
By a unanimous vote, the council pledged that the “the judicial branch
will work with state and local entities and community partners to realize
the commission’s goals, and urge Congress to act on the recommendations.”
Almost 100,000 children in California live apart from their families
in out-of- home care—19 percent of the total number of children in foster
care across the nation. Most children in foster care are placed there
because of family abuse and neglect. For more information on the
Pew Commission report, see http://pewfostercare.org/.
Chaired by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, the 27-member council also
took these other actions:
-
Juvenile Dependency Caseloads: Approved a voluntary program in 10 courts
to pilot proposed caseload standards for counsel who represent children
and parents in dependency cases, which involve abused and neglected children
in juvenile court.
-
Court Facilities: Adopted Appellate and Trial Court Facilities Governance
Rules that apportion responsibility and establish a system to provide for
decision making regarding appellate and trial court facilities, including
operations, capital improvement, and construction. The new rules
implement the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002 and related laws on appellate
court facilities.
-
Court Interpreters: Amended the rule that establishes the Court Interpreters
Advisory Panel to provide a more effective means for the panel to advise
the Judicial Council on current policy matters concerning court interpreters
and interpreter services in the courts. The amended rule would be consistent
with the mandates of the Court Interpreters Employment and Labor Relations
Act. It would reduce the panel’s size to 11 members, consistent with
recent council actions to reduce the size of its committees in an effort
to foster their efficiency.
The Judicial Council also approved annual trial court travel expense policies
and procedures, as required by Government Code section 69505.
The agenda for the council’s meeting is at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/
courtadmin/jc/documents/age0604.pdf .