Sacramento County Grand Jury
• 2004-2005
The Development of New Partnerships and Programs to Assist Foster Children
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 3 findings
F1
While the Grand Jury did not evaluate the effectiveness of these programs, we believe Sacramento County and the Department of Health and Human Services are making a good effort to design and support supplementary programs to improve outcomes for children in foster care. County statistics and anecdotal evidence indicate positive effects from many of these new efforts. Program information provided by Sacramento County DHHS, Child Protective Services 51
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The County should continue to encourage and support these new programs.
F2
It appears that many Group Home providers lack knowledge of and are even unaware of the existence of some of these programs. Most respondents to the survey were completely unaware of the Making Memories program, The Parent and Staff Shared Leadership Task Force and the Citizens Academy. Over half were unaware of the Drug Dependency Court.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The County and the Department of Health and Human Services need to improve awareness of these programs with their providers of care and with the community in general. The County must develop a method of disseminating information on these programs to all of its providers. Providers may be better able to utilize services for their children if they are more knowledgeable about the options available. Community support for programs that have successes is essential.
F3
The Department does not maintain a current mailing list of its Group Home providers; the returned mail indicates an inattention to updating addresses for providers.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Department of Health and Human Services needs to maintain an up-to-date list of providers. The Department must verify that all Group Homes on its list are valid entities and are at the addresses listed on the county’s official mailing list. Response Requirements Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to both the