Commission on Children in Foster CareMay 12, 2014Washington State Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care Members present: Justice Bobbe Bridge (ret.), Washington State Supreme Court, Commission Co-Chair Members not present: Assistant Secretary Jennifer Strus (co-chair); Ms. Beth Canfield; Representative. Ruth Kagi; Ms. Chorisia Folkman; Ms. Joanne Moore; Ms. Carrie Wayno; and Ms. Tonia Morrison Guests: Ms. Jill Malat, Office of Civil Legal Aid; Ms. Janet Skreen, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC); Mr. Matt Orme, Washington Center for Court Research; Ms. Megan Walton, Amara; Ms. Catherine Pickard, Washington Center for Court Research; Ms. Rachel Sanford, AOC; Ms. Brooklyn Jones, The Mockingbird Society; Ms. Trai Williams, The Mockingbird Society; and Ms. Laurie Lippold, Partners for Our Children Staff present: Ms. Jessica Birklid CCFC Intern, Center for Children & Youth Justice (CCYJ) Staff not present: Ms. Paula Malleck-Odegaard (AOC) Call to Order Justice Bridge called the meeting to order. Welcome and Introductions Justice Bridge welcomed Commission members and guests. Approval of March 10, 2014 Meeting Minutes Justice Bridge presented the meeting minutes from March 10, 2014. Judge Kitty-Ann van Doorninck moved to approve the minutes with no changes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Ryan Murrey. The March 10, 2014 meeting minutes were unanimously approved. DSHS/Children’s Administration Updates Mr. David Del Villar Fox, on behalf of Assistant Secretary Jennifer Strus, provided an update of the Children’s Administration (CA). CA Strategic Plan and Lean Management Mr. Del Villar Fox discussed CA’s strategic planning process. The strategic plan incorporates DSHS’s main focus areas. The purpose of the strategic planning process is to give CA the information and tools to identify areas for improvement. This is the first CA strategic plan that focuses on retaining and recruiting competent case workers with the intent of improving child safety. Mr. Del Villar Fox also discussed the current Lean Management work inside the agency. DSHS Secretary Kevin Quigley and Asst. Secretary Strus are focusing on significantly improving administrative and work processes, eliminating duplicate work, and improving efficiencies. Justice Bridge asked Commission Members to review the strategic plan because it sets the direction for how the agency runs.
Family Assessment Response Mr. Del Villar Fox said that as FAR continues to be implemented, there are more cases to study and learn from. In the first stages of implementation more intakes went to CPS than FAR. Mr. Del Villar Fox said this could be because workers are concerned about safety and would rather err on the side of caution. As workers become familiar with FAR and more data is collected, CA is finding an increase in cases designated as FAR. Three additional offices will implement FAR this summer. Representative Mary Helen Roberts asked if there is a shortage of community services to refer families to. Mr. Del Villar Fox said that as time goes on and case workers become more familiar with communities, they identify more resources. Mr. Jim Bamberger asked how CA is evaluating FAR’s impact on the number of cases that are filed. Mr. Del Villar Fox said that this is part of the evaluation plan. Dependency and Timeliness Report Mr. Matt Orme presented the Dependent Children in Washington: Case Timeliness and Outcomes Report for 2013, highlighting new additions. The federal government required two new process measures: time to all permanency filings and time from dependency filing to the legally free date. Washington previously tracked time to first permanency planning hearing but now must include time to each subsequent hearing. Tracking time from dependency filing to the legally free date is challenging because the state’s computer system has two cases for each child happening simultaneously – a dependency case and a termination case – with no automatic way to connect them yet. WSCCR developed a partnership with CA, the Office Research and Data Analysis (“RDA”) at DSHS, and Casey Family Programs to study how process timeliness affect child outcomes. The goal is to know what difference timely processes make in children’s lives. Justice Bridge asked what specific outcomes they are measuring. Mr. Orme says the primary outcome measure is time to permanency. Justice Bridge and Rep. Roberts expressed the importance of knowing what difference timely permanency makes in children’s lives and in well-being. Mr. Jim Bamberger said the challenge is knowing which indicators accurately measure well-being. Finding these indicators is important because permanency does not represent the full picture of child well-being. Mr. Orme said that this is the purpose of the partnership with RDA and Casey Family Programs. The hope is that each year progress is made and additional indicators added. Mr. Bamberger asked how the Commission can help with this process. Justice Bridge said the Timeliness Report Advisory Group should have this conversation and report to the Commission. Ms. Janet Skreen said the federal government is very interested in well-being measures and the state will likely soon be required to track this. Ms. Skreen’s goal is to have the advisory committee start with measuring some of the easier well-being indicators and then get more advanced. Mr. Ryan Murrey asked if WSCCR considers case severity. Mr. Orme said case characteristics are included. Rep. Roberts asked if timeliness differences were addressed in the Braam case. Justice Bridge said what precipitated the legislation that set timelines was research that showed time matters for kids. It is more harmful for children the longer they are without stability. Justice Bridge said the Commission needs to continue this conversation, particularly once the advisory committee has had a chance to look more closely at what the data shows and how to address outcomes. Amara: Family and Juvenile Court Research Ms. Megan Walton updated the Commission on Amara’s Family Court Project, discussed at the March 10, 2014 meeting. In December 2013 Amara hosted a panel presentation about creating special family courts dedicated to the needs of children and families who are involved in various court proceedings in Washington. Since March, Amara, assisted by Kelly Warner-King, has researched what other states are doing with family courts. A Steering Committee was established and is narrowing the project’s focus and determining what outcomes would be expected to improve if the court system was designed for the needs of children and families. Amara held an event in Spokane to learn about their model for dependency cases. On May 21, 2014, Amara will host a discussion on the topic at Town Hall in Seattle. The Chief Court Administrator from Kentucky, a state with a family court system, will speak about their practice. The goal is to learn why and how Kentucky implemented this system and how they measure success. Justice Bridge recommended that Amara share their preliminary research report which looks at nontraditional ways of responding to family law, dependency, and juvenile justice cases in Washington. The report studies different models across the country, what data is available, what success looks like, and what courts or features are more successful than others. All three of the state’s law schools have volunteered to help with further research and data gathering. Multi-System Youth in Washington State Ms. Catherine Pickard shared the AOC’s work on multi-system youth. Multi-system youth are those that have touched both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The data includes all youth with juvenile justice contact in 2010, including status and delinquency offenses. Child welfare data was divided into three categories: youth with no child welfare involvement, youth with at least one CPS accepted referral that was investigated, and youth with a history of legal activity or at least one dependency case or out of home placement. Results show that about 56 percent of youth involved in the juvenile justice system in 2010 had no child welfare record; 31 percent had a history of at least one CPS accepted referral investigation; and 12.7 percent had a history of legal activity or out of home placement. About 5 percent of the 56 percent with no child welfare record prior to their involvement with the juvenile justice system in 2010 had child welfare involvement after 2010. Dr. Emmil asked if they compared this to child welfare records from other states. Ms. Pickard said that while the data is limited right now, they are working with CA to identify out of state system involvement. Justice Bridge said that Commission members should look over Doorways to Delinquency, a 2011 report on multi-system youth in King County, as much of the AOC’s current work is modeled after this report. Ms. Pickard reported that AOC is looking at what type of referrals push youth into the juvenile justice system. Of youth with no history of child welfare involvement, about 34 percent entered on a status referral, 66 percent entered on a delinquency referral, and 7.7 percent experienced both. Justice Bridge asked if this was over the youth’s entire history or just 2010. Ms. Pickard said that the child welfare data covers the individual’s entire history, but the juvenile justice piece looks only at charges in 2010. For the group with the highest contact being a CPS referral, there is a decrease in the status or delinquency referrals and an increase in the status and delinquency referrals. Only 4,000 of the 31,000 youth with juvenile justice involvement have a history of out of home placement, but of these youth nearly twice as many proportionally as other cohorts had multiple juvenile justice involvements in 2010. The average age for youth with no child welfare record was almost 15 years for both status and delinquency referrals. For youth with CPS as highest involvement in child welfare, the average age of delinquency referral is 14 years and for status referrals is 13.5 years of age. For youth with a history of dependency or out of home placement, average age for delinquency referral is 13.5 years and for status referral is 12 years. Mr. Ryan Murrey asked if the timing or age of the CPS referral was significant. Ms. Pickard said that right now there is no differentiation in age of CPS referral, but they would like to look at this in the future. The full 2010 cohort with juvenile justice contact is 37 percent female and 63 percent male. When looking at those in the cohort with a history of out of home placement, the proportion of females jumps to 43 percent. This suggests an opportunity to look at risk factors for females in the child welfare system and why they are more likely to be involved in juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice cohort is 10 percent African-American, which increases to 16 percent when looking at those with out of home placements. For youth identifying as Native American or Alaskan Native, the proportion of youth involved in juvenile justice system nearly doubles when comparing those with no child welfare involvement to those with history of out of home placements. For youth identifying as Hispanic, juvenile justice system involvement declines as youth get more involved in the child welfare system. Mr. Jim Bamberger suggested looking at how this demographic information relates to the type of juvenile justice charges discussed previously. Ms. Pickard said the AOC is working on data sharing agreements to include education data and expand child welfare data. Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit and Youth Advocacy Day Update Ms. Brooklyn Jones and Ms. Trai Williams provided an update of The Mockingbird’s 2014 legislative successes and previewed the 2014 Foster Youth and Alumni Summit. Ms. Jones reported that four of The Mockingbird Society’s priority pieces of legislation became law:
The 2014 Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit will be held July 1st and 2nd at Seattle University. Ms. Williams reported that on May 31st , leaders from each of Mockingbird’s network chapters will participate in the State Leadership Council meeting where they will present proposals and obtain feedback. These proposals will continuously be revised in preparation for the Summit. Potential proposals may include:
New Children’s Representation Program Mr. Jim Bamberger introduced Ms. Jill Malat, the Program Director of the new Children’s Representation Program in the Office of Civil Legal Aid. SB 6126 requires that counsel be appointed for eligible children & youth starting July 1, 2014. Ms. Malat said her first focus is determining where these cases are and how many kids qualify. Her overall goal is to ensure the highest possible quality representation. She welcomed input and help from Commission Members now and in the future. Mr. Michael Heard asked if they were any closer to knowing how many children qualify for attorneys. Ms. Malat said they do not yet have precise numbers but she is hopeful they will know by July 1st. Mr. Bamberger said OCLA convened a working group to address implementation issues and challenges. They will likely use a county reimbursement model at first so that money flows to the counties. Eventually OCLA is looking to transition to the Office of Public Defense model where it works directly with and trains attorneys to ensure that standards are effectively complied with. Justice Bridge asked if there was going to be an evaluation component of the legal representation program. Mr. Bamberger said there will be one. Updated on Jointly Sponsored CSEC Judicial Training Ms. Birklid provided an update for the commercial sexually exploited children (CSEC) training, jointly sponsored by this Commission and the Gender and Justice Commission. The training will cover how to better identify commercially sexually exploited children and how judges can respond more effectively to meet their needs. The training is tentatively scheduled for August 2, 2014. Invitations will be extended to all Superior Court Judges. Justice Bridge asked if CASA or foster parents would be interested. Mr. Ryan Murrey said CASA would like to participate to see how they can help and be involved in this issue moving forward. Mr. Heard asked why this training was not on the fall judicial conference schedule. Ms. Birklid replied that grant funding support is only available until August 31, 2014. This training is a pilot program that if successful, could be replicated and discussed in future judicial conferences. Normalcy Workgroup Ms. Jeannie Kee reported that the Workgroup recently reviewed the draft caregiver guidelines that the Department of Licensing & Regulations(“ DLR”) is preparing in response to the prudent parent legislation. DLR wants guidelines for foster parents and social workers that leave room for discussions and new activities, rather than a bounded list of specific, defined activities. The Workgroup suggested that the guidelines be reviewed by foster parents to collect their input. The group remains interested in looking at the extended foster care population, possibly through developing a set of normalcy guidelines for 18-21 year olds. Justice Bridge asked if the Workgroup needs additional members. Ms. Kee said Treehouse was invited to the Workgroup to enhance discussions around education. The Workgroup lost their foster parent voice and would like someone new. Mr. Canfield said he has a few names in mind and will contact Ms. Kee. Ms. Kee mentioned that they have not had a judge attend meetings in a long while. The group discussed a few potential judges. Ms. Malat will also join the group, as the Program Director for the Children’s Representation Program. WA-QIC Update Ms. Hathaway Burden presented the WA-QIC update. The study’s most recent quarter just finished and is projected to have approximately 98 percent reporting compliance. There is less than one year of data collection remaining. Justice Bridge and Ms. Burden plan to meet with the University of Michigan to discuss what post-QIC transition will look like. Several jurisdictions in Washington are looking to have QIC trained attorneys take on cases under the new legal representation program. This is Ms. Burden’s final report to the Commission. She is handing the WA-QIC project off to Ms. Hannah Gold at CCYJ, who will provide future updates to the Commission. Ms. Gold previously worked on this project while at the University of Michigan so a smooth transition is expected. Old Business Foster Care Transitions Workgroup There is nothing new to report at this time though the Commission recognized that there remains a need to look into special needs youth who are transitioning out of foster care. 2014 Legislation That Did Not Pass Rep. Roberts discussed child welfare legislation that did not pass this session. The first was extended foster care for those with medical barriers to employment and education. Rep. Roberts also discussed a failed bill which would have given more support for adoptions. Under the bill, adoption home study requirements would have been more rigorous and required more training. The members discussed HB 2722 which addressed mandatory arrests in domestic violence calls. The bill would have given law enforcement discretion to arrest in domestic violence calls involving 16 and 17 year olds. Justice Bridge said that domestic violence for adolescents often involves sibling on sibling and parent and child altercations, and there may be another way to deal with these disputes without arrest. The bill is likely to be re-introduced in the 2015 session. Other News Rep. Roberts is retiring and 2014 was her last legislative session. She discussed highlights of this final session and what her future plans are. This is also Mr. Ryan Cummings’ last Commission meeting. He has served for three years and was accepted to the Foster Club All-Stars beginning on May 20, 2014. The group thanked both members for their years of service. New Business 2015 Legislative Session Ms. Laurie Lippold, via conference call previewed the 2015 legislative session. Ms. Lippold said that while many legislators are hesitant to start strategizing until after the fall election, groups like the Child Welfare Advocacy Coalition (CWAC) have already moved to identify possible priorities. These include:
Next Meetings The Foster Youth and Alumni Leadership Summit is July 2, 2014, at Seattle University. The next quarterly meeting is September 15, 2014, at the Temple of Justice, Chief Justice’s Reception Room. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Jessica Birklid, CCYJ |
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