NCJ Number
202149
Date Published
July 2002
Length
222 pages
Annotation
This report presents a statewide assessment of California's child welfare system.
Abstract
The State-supervised child welfare system in California is administered at the local level by 58 counties; each county is responsible for following the regulations, policies, and procedures authorized by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). Section 1 presents general information about California's child welfare system. Section 2 discusses systemic factors, including the capacity of the Statewide Information System to keep track of the status, demographics, location, and goals for all children in foster care. The case review system and the quality assurance system are discussed, which meet the requirements that children in foster care have a written case plan and that children are provided with quality services that protect their health and safety. The effectiveness of staff training is reviewed, including data on the numbers and timeframes of staff that have undergone training. Also addressed in section 2 is a review of the effectiveness of services designed to return children safely to the homes from which they were removed and the effectiveness of State efforts to consult and coordinate with external community stakeholders in the development of the State's Child and Family Services Plan. Finally, section 2 reviews the agency's responsiveness to community concerns and the efforts undertaken to establish and maintain standards for foster family homes, adoptive homes, and childcare institutions. Section 3 presents safety and permanency data, which contains two versions of the Statewide Aggregate Data Profile, one of which was prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the other of which was prepared by the University of California, Berkeley. Section 4 presents a narrative assessment of child and family outcomes, with a focus on safety, permanency, and child and family well-being. This section maintains that despite an increase in reporting rates, the number of substantiated reports of child maltreatment has remained stable. Moreover, the rate of children entering foster care as a result of maltreatment has decreased during the past 3 years. Finally, section 5 describes the State assessment of strengths and needs. Strengths include the safety and permanency of children in foster care settings, while needs include a reduction in caseloads and improvements to data management systems. Figures and tables