Response from Board of Supervisors

The attrition rate of families in the county who are willing to foster children is high. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding.

Many potential foster parents have been eliminated from the list of currently available foster parents, after it was found that they were only interested in adopting and were not willing to take in older foster youth. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding. When these families make their wishes known to CFS staff, they update the list accordingly.

The County uses Foster Family Agencies (FFA) after first trying to locate suitable potential homes in the system. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding.

The foster caregivers identified through FFA are sometimes more experienced, and receive more support and training from the FFA. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding.

FFA social workers have lighter caseloads than County social workers. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding.

There is a shortage of available, qualified foster homes in the County, as evidenced by the 384 youth that are currently located in out-of-county foster homes. Response: Respondent agrees in part with this finding. There is a shortage of foster homes. however, it is important to note many of these youth are placed with relatives out of county.

Children and Family Services (CFS) selects foster parents recruited by the County instead of by FFA because they cost approximately 40 percent less and the County foster parents are better known to the CFS Placement team as they were selected, trained and licensed by the County. Response: Respondent agrees in part with this finding. Foster parents known to CFS and with whom there is a documented history are often preferable placements, but placement decisions are based on the best possible alternative for the child.

The County has not performed a "gap" analysis to specifically identify the type of foster homes most needed. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding. There is no available funding for this activity.

There is a shortage of foster parents willing and able to take in teenagers. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding.

Foster family recruitment efforts have not kept up with the need for foster families. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding.

The CFS recruiting position, which is the position that is responsible for foster parent recruitment, has not been filled and is currently staffed by one person on a half-time basis. Response: Respondent disagrees with this finding. The position is filled with a full time recruiter.

CFS is not accumulating information to help measure outcomes of County foster youth and determine which providers are the most effective (where applicable). Response: Respondent agrees with this finding. There is no available funding for this activity.

Mental health professionals do not participate in the new CFS Continuous Quality Improvement process. Response: Respondent agrees in part with this finding. While the Continuous Quality Improvement process is focused in CFS, Mental Health staff meet regularly with CFS and Probation to review cases, and under AB 403 additional communication will occur.

The County Mental Health Department does limited screenings/assessments of new foster youth. Response: Respondent disagrees in part with this finding. An initial screening is conducted on all children, but only if they exhibit indications of a mental disorder are they fully assessed by a licensed clinician upon entry in to the system.

CFS placement staff often does not have a complete mental health diagnosis, suggested treatment plan or prognosis prior to placing a new foster youth with foster parents. Response: Respondent disagrees with this finding. As described above, an initial screening is conducted for all children placed and only those exhibiting indications of a mental disorder are referred for a full assessment by a licensed clinician. Due to the need to place children as soon as possible, a full assessment and treatment plan for those who have been referred for evaluation may not be completed prior to placement.

Ongoing mental health therapy for foster youth is frequently not as effective as it could be because it is difficult to arrange and often interrupted due to the movement of youth between foster homes. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding. Every effort is made by County staff to ensure continuity of care for children in the system, however, the availability and location of resources are a constant challenge.

Out-of-county placement strains the resources of CFS both monetarily and in terms of staff time as CFS staff have to travel to wherever the foster youth is located. Response: Respondent agrees with this finding.

CFS is experiencing significant challenges in coordinating with all the necessary agencies involved to meet the requirements of AB 403. Response: Respondent disagrees with the finding. Coordination has improved with the creation of an Executive Leadership Team comprised of the Directors of Employment and Human Services (EHSD), Behavioral Health, Probation and the Chief Assistant County Administrator. In addition, a Steering Committee, facilitated by a consultant, has direct responsibility for guiding the implementation activities for CCR. This Committee is comprised of the CFS Director, the Chief of Children's Mental Health, and a Probation Manager.

The outcomes of faith-based foster children are often better than for children fostered in secular homes, as their stay with such families is longer than the average and the youth gain an increased sense of belonging to a community. Response: Respondent disagrees with this finding. CFS has no data to support such a finding, nor does it reflect actual experience in regard to lengths of stay in foster care.

Current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or job classifications do not permit sufficient flexibility to allow for mental health professionals to respond after hours to situations that arise in the treatment of foster youth. Response: Respondent disagrees with this finding. The MOUs provide compensation for employees who handle after hours situations, and a contract with SENECA exists for additional resources 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Based on the current costs of Group Home care, millions of dollars of State support money will be saved when foster youth transition to individual foster families. Response: Respondent agrees in part with this finding. While the cost of group home care is higher than the projected cost of therapeutic foster family placements, the intent of the Legislature is unknown in regard to the full and final implementation of AB 403. Any State savings and costs associated with Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) are under their control.

High level executives at FFA frequently recruit foster parents, whereas lower level line personnel usually perform this function at the County. Response: Respondent agrees in part with this finding. It is true that County Social Workers carry out foster parent recruiting duties. However, it is unknown to CFS how the FFA's conduct their recruiting of foster parents.