Honoring Emancipated Youth (HEY)foster care data http://www.heysf.org Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:31:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Legislature Unanimously Improves L.A. County Child Abuse Information Database http://www.heysf.org/legislature-unanimously-improves-l-a-county-child-abuse-information-database-5432.html http://www.heysf.org/legislature-unanimously-improves-l-a-county-child-abuse-information-database-5432.html#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:01:38 +0000 Justin Slaughter http://www.heysf.org/?p=5432
  • HHS Releases Study of National Child Abuse Registry
  • New Resource: Online Clearinghouse for State Child Welfare Policies
  • San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center (SFCAPC) Hiring Director of Human Resources, Finance & Administration
    • ]]>
    [From Century City News, August 25, 2010]

    The Legislature has approved Assembly Bill 2322, legislation by Assembly member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Emeritus Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) that would help ensure the safety of children who are the subject of child abuse investigations. The bill passed on a unanimous, bipartisan vote in the Legislature and now awaits the Governor’s signature.

    The bill will help county employees better identify instances of child abuse and neglect, help social workers fashion plans of action for potentially abused children, and provide strict protection for the privacy of children and their families.

    “This bill could save kids’ lives. It will help social workers ensure that kids have safe places to live,” said Feuer. “With AB 2322, social workers will have a more complete picture of a child’s home and will be able to make better-informed decisions about the child’s care.”

    AB 2322 adds critical information to theLos Angeles County child welfare database known as the Family Child Index (FCI), which social workers use during their investigation of potentially abused children. The bill adds conviction information, related to crimes against a child, about persons living in a child’s home to FCI, as well as basic identifying and contact information about all individuals living in the child’s home. Social workers currently access the convictions data of individuals in a child’s home by contacting County law enforcement and waiting for days or even weeks for law enforcement employees to provide them with the information.

    “It is vital that we give county officials every opportunity to make informed decisions regarding a child’s well-being,” Bass said. “This bill has the opportunity to save lives through shared information and collaborative efforts, and I am proud of my colleagues for their unanimous support.”

    In addition, the bill helps ensure that county employees clearly understand when they can share pertinent information about a child’s case by clarifying which employees can share information about a child with one another in a multidisciplinary team (MDT) context. Finally, the bill includes Linkages program cross-planning CalWorks case managers as authorized MDT members. Unlike the changes to the database information, which only affects the FCI database in Los Angeles County, these proposed changes would affect all MDTs in all California counties.

    Currently, professionals in different county departments are allowed to form MDTs to share information about a child’s case to determine if child abuse is taking place. MDTs must be three or more people and can be formed in person or by phone. While all counties are authorized to establish a computer database/pointer system to show when a child/family has had contact with various county departments, such as law enforcement or mental health service providers, onlyLos Angeles County has implemented this database in the form of FCI.

    AB 2322 is sponsored byLos Angeles County, SEIU, and the County Welfare Directors Association of California.

    Related posts:

    1. HHS Releases Study of National Child Abuse Registry
    2. New Resource: Online Clearinghouse for State Child Welfare Policies
    3. San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center (SFCAPC) Hiring Director of Human Resources, Finance & Administration

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/legislature-unanimously-improves-l-a-county-child-abuse-information-database-5432.html/feed 0     Numbers Can Lie http://www.heysf.org/numbers-can-lie-5371.html http://www.heysf.org/numbers-can-lie-5371.html#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:30:13 +0000 Justin Slaughter http://www.heysf.org/?p=5371 By Justin Slaughter, AmeriCorps VISTA Intern Last Monday I read the front page headline of the San Francisco Examiner someone had dropped at my desk, and this government statistic stared me in the face: San Francisco places children into foster care at rate of 80 percent above state average. The article’s author was citing the percentage of the entire minor population in San Francisco that enter, or are already in, foster care for a one year period, a statistic that is tracked by the Child Welfare Dynamic Report System run by California Department of Social Services and U.C. at Berkeley. An official statement is provided from the deputy of San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA), who points out that, though staggeringly high, these numbers of entry are of historical consequence and have been declining over the last ten years in San Francisco. City Supervisor Sophie Maxwell then loosely criticizes HSA at the very last sentence of the article, ostensibly to highlight the article's underlying answer as to why San Francisco has so many children in foster care: “they [HSA] always go, ‘We’re trying this and that’...But, then you see the numbers and they’re still shocking.” Following Maxwell's subtle finger-pointing, implying that the city has tried and failed to keep kids out of foster care in the first place, the article quickly mentions that during the so-called crack epidemic of the late 80’s, which brought many thousands of local children, a large number of them black, into foster custody, the city policy was to automatically place a child in a foster home if the city could trace any amount of drugs in the child's system. The comments posted to the online article follow the same assumption that the city of San Francisco has hastened children into care at unusually high rate, calling the headline statistic “shocking” and “embarrassing." But before we jump from the author's unearthed statistics to the conclusion that the foster care system is screwing up, and like all statistical assumptions, we should be cautious. First, the foster care entry and in-care statistics alone, though accurate, do not reveal anything about the physical and mental well-being of San Francisco foster children. The numbers say nothing as to whether a child, though best tended to by a person of biological or kin relation in ideal circumstances, would otherwise be better off served outside the system. Secondly, the number of San Francisco foster children who reach permanency, the number one priority of Human Services Agency for the life of each individual foster child, is not even mentioned or compared in the article; though this obviously is a prime indicator of a functioning HSA policy. Why are so many children taken from the home in the first place? Is it also possible that a high number of children in foster care means that HSA is investigating, substantiating, and preventing abuse and neglect above the state average? This makes just as much sense as the flip-side of the article's theme. The idiosyncrasies of the San Franciscan foster care system--its over-representation of black children in the system, the majority of child placements out-of-county, and a high rate of entry above state average--are surprising to many in our community. Are abuse and neglect numerically and racially disproportionate around the Bay? None of us want to entertain this proposition, which is not provable and inevitably judgmental and discriminatory. And when you hear a mother who lost custody of her child lament on the article's comment section that “I am out numbered, out matched and can no longer fight this battle alone," one has to ask: does the arrogance of government streamline children away from families into public custody unjustly? Are we helping or hurting San Francisco families? Statistics don't answer the questions that would take years of research to figure out. The article only leaves it up to the reader’s imagination. Related posts:
    1. San Francisco Foster Rates Higher Than State Average
    2. Bay Budget Blues
    3. Cash flow woes: The numbers behind the state budget crisis
    ]]>     By Justin Slaughter, AmeriCorps VISTA Intern

    Last Monday I read the front page headline of the San Francisco Examiner someone had dropped at my desk, and this government statistic stared me in the face: San Francisco places children into foster care at rate of 80 percent above state average. The article’s author was citing the percentage of the entire minor population in San Francisco that enter, or are already in, foster care for a one year period, a statistic that is tracked by the Child Welfare Dynamic Report System run by California Department of Social Services and U.C. at Berkeley.

    An official statement is provided  from the deputy of San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA), who points out that, though staggeringly high, these numbers of entry are of historical consequence and have been declining over the last ten years in San Francisco.  City Supervisor Sophie Maxwell then loosely criticizes HSA at the very last sentence of the article, ostensibly to highlight the article’s underlying answer as to why San Francisco has so many children in foster care: “they [HSA] always go, ‘We’re trying this and that’…But, then you see the numbers and they’re still shocking.”

    Following Maxwell’s subtle finger-pointing, implying that the city has tried and failed to keep kids out of foster care in the first place, the article quickly mentions that during the so-called crack epidemic of the late 80’s, which brought many thousands of local children, a large number of them black, into foster custody, the city policy was to automatically place a child in a foster home if the city could trace any amount of drugs in the child’s system. The comments posted to the online article follow the same assumption that the city of San Francisco has hastened children into care at unusually high rate, calling the headline statistic “shocking” and “embarrassing.”

    But before we jump from the author’s unearthed statistics to the conclusion that the foster care system is screwing up, and like all statistical assumptions, we should be cautious.

    First, the foster care entry and in-care statistics alone, though accurate, do not reveal anything about the physical and mental well-being of San Francisco foster children. The numbers say nothing as to whether a child, though best tended to by a person of biological or kin relation in ideal circumstances, would otherwise be better off served outside the system.

    Secondly,  the number of San Francisco foster children who reach permanency, the number one priority of Human Services Agency for the life of each individual foster child, is not even mentioned or compared in the article; though this obviously is a prime indicator of a functioning HSA policy.

    Why are so many children taken from the home in the first place? Is it also possible that a high number of children in foster care means that HSA is investigating, substantiating, and preventing abuse and neglect above the state average? This makes just as much sense as the flip-side of the article’s theme.

    The idiosyncrasies of the San Franciscan foster care system–its over-representation of black children in the system, the majority of child placements out-of-county, and a high rate of entry above state average–are surprising to many in our community. Are abuse and neglect numerically and racially disproportionate around the Bay? None of us want to entertain this proposition, which is not provable and inevitably judgmental and discriminatory.

    And when you hear a mother who lost custody of her child lament on the article’s comment section that “I am out numbered, out matched and can no longer fight this battle alone,” one has to ask: does the arrogance of government streamline children away from families into public custody unjustly? Are we helping or hurting San Francisco families?

    Statistics don’t answer the questions that would take years of research to figure out. The article only leaves it up to the reader’s imagination.

    Related posts:

    1. San Francisco Foster Rates Higher Than State Average
    2. Bay Budget Blues
    3. Cash flow woes: The numbers behind the state budget crisis

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/numbers-can-lie-5371.html/feed 1     San Francisco Foster Rates Higher Than State Average http://www.heysf.org/san-francisco-foster-rates-higher-than-state-average-5343.html http://www.heysf.org/san-francisco-foster-rates-higher-than-state-average-5343.html#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:45:36 +0000 Justin Slaughter http://www.heysf.org/?p=5343 [From Katie Worth, San Francisco Examiner, August 9, 2010] Children in San Francisco are 80 percent more likely to be in foster care than children in other parts of the state, and The City’s black children are some 2,000 percent more likely to be in foster care than white kids.
    City officials say that’s actually an improvement from the disparity in years past, but San Francisco social workers are still 50 percent more likely to separate a black child from their family and place them in foster care than social workers elsewhere in California.
    Related posts:
    1. San Francisco Saturated with Services–Some Have to Go
    2. Impact of state budget on San Francisco, and next steps with the city budget
    3. San Francisco Chronicle Editorial – University of California Fee Hikes Affect Social Workers and Foster Youth
    ]]>     [From Katie Worth, San Francisco Examiner, August 9, 2010]

    Children in San Francisco are 80 percent more likely to be in foster care than children in other parts of the state, and The City’s black children are some 2,000 percent more likely to be in foster care than white kids.

    City officials say that’s actually an improvement from the disparity in years past, but San Francisco social workers are still 50 percent more likely to separate a black child from their family and place them in foster care than social workers elsewhere in California.

    Also, they are about 20 percent less likely to place a white child in foster care than social workers in other parts of the state.

    Human Services Agency Director Trent Rhorer pointed out that the disparity is historical and that the percentage of black children entering the system today is lower than it was a decade ago.

    “We’re actually very pleased with the progress we’ve made in foster care,” Rhorer said. “The numbers may show we don’t compare favorably to [the rest of the state], but when you look at the progress we’ve made, it’s quite remarkable.”

    He said the total number of San Francisco children on the foster care rolls has dropped by nearly half in the past decade, and the percentage of black children on those rolls has dropped from almost 70 percent to 64 percent.

    Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, who a few years ago helped create a task force on foster care, said she’s frustrated that more advances have not been made, noting that some 70 percent of inmates in San Quentin State Prison were in foster care.

    San Francisco had a huge surge of black children in foster care in the late 1980s and early 1990s because The City had a policy of placing children in the system if there was any trace of drugs in their bodies. And, The City didn’t check whether the children had other relatives who could care for them.

    Now, those children are “aging out” of the system, Human Services Agency Deputy Director Debby Jeter said, which will change the demographics of The City’s foster care population.

    But, Maxwell is dissatisfied.

    “They always go, ‘We’re trying this and that,’” Maxwell said. “But, then you see the numbers and they’re still shocking.”

    Finding homes for children

    Statistics comparing numbers of foster children in San Francisco and California:

    In foster care       Entering foster care
    per 1,000 in 2009    per 1,000 in 2009
    California (total)                6.0                       3.1
    Black                           26.6                     11.0
    White                            4.8                       2.6
    San Francisco (total)         10.8                       3.3
    Black                           80.7                      16.4
    White                            3.8                       2.0

    59,484 children in foster care in California in 2009

    1,289 children in foster care in San Francisco in 2009

    20.6 percent of California children sent out of county for foster care

    54.7 percent of S.F. children sent out of county for foster care

    Sources: Center for Social Services Research at UC Berkeley, California Department of Social Services

    City defends placing kids out of county

    San Francisco is far more likely to send children out of the county for foster care than any other county in California, but according to Human Services Agency Director Trent Rhorer, that statistic is an indicator of success.

    According to state data, only about 20 percent of foster children are sent to other counties for care, while in San Francisco, some 55 percent are sent out.

    “With out-of-county placement rate, we are the highest in the state,” Rhorer said. “But, that masks something else: We have the highest rate of placement with relatives,” he said. “It just so happens that most of the relatives are out of town, [mostly] in Alameda County or Sacramento. But, we’d rather place the child with their uncle or aunt or grandparent than to place them [with strangers] in The City just to pump up our numbers.”

    Related posts:

    1. San Francisco Saturated with Services–Some Have to Go
    2. Impact of state budget on San Francisco, and next steps with the city budget
    3. San Francisco Chronicle Editorial – University of California Fee Hikes Affect Social Workers and Foster Youth

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/san-francisco-foster-rates-higher-than-state-average-5343.html/feed 0     Check it Out! the Fostering Connections Kinship Toolkit Online http://www.heysf.org/check-out-the-fostering-connections-kinship-toolkit-online-5139.html http://www.heysf.org/check-out-the-fostering-connections-kinship-toolkit-online-5139.html#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:25:54 +0000 Justin Slaughter http://www.heysf.org/?p=5139 [From Children's Defense Fund, June 30, 2010] The Fostering Connections Resource Center provides information, training and tools related to implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act so it will truly benefit children and youths. As Lead Partner for the Kinship/Guardianship Network of the Resource Center, CDF partnered with other organizations to create the Fostering Connections Kinship Toolkit. The Kinship Toolkit is designed to assist states in promoting family connections for children in foster care. It describes how to implement the identification and notice requirements of the law so relatives can connect with children early. It offers guidance to help states that are considering applying for and implementing the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) funding. The Kinship Toolkit includes information on the fiscal impact of GAP funding, myths and facts about GAP, sample legislation, and checklists and other sample documents necessary for implementing both GAP and the identification and notice requirements. The toolkit also provides answers to questions regarding all of the provisions that will affect children being raised by grandparents and other relatives. Learn more about how to Foster Connections through Kin in your state by watching a webinar. Related posts:
    1. Seven Plan to Extend Kinship-Guardianship Option
    2. Three States Approved For Kinship-Guardianship Option, 11 More Pending
    3. Support AB 12 California Fostering Connections to Success Act Today
    ]]>     [From Children's Defense Fund, June 30, 2010]

    The Fostering Connections Resource Center provides information, training and tools related to implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act so it will truly benefit children and youths. As Lead Partner for the Kinship/Guardianship Network of the Resource Center, CDF partnered with other organizations to create the Fostering Connections Kinship Toolkit.

    The Kinship Toolkit is designed to assist states in promoting family connections for children in foster care. It describes how to implement the identification and notice requirements of the law so relatives can connect with children early. It offers guidance to help states that are considering applying for and implementing the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) funding.

    The Kinship Toolkit includes information on the fiscal impact of GAP funding, myths and facts about GAP, sample legislation, and checklists and other sample documents necessary for implementing both GAP and the identification and notice requirements. The toolkit also provides answers to questions regarding all of the provisions that will affect children being raised by grandparents and other relatives.

    Learn more about how to Foster Connections through Kin in your state by watching a webinar.

    Related posts:

    1. Seven Plan to Extend Kinship-Guardianship Option
    2. Three States Approved For Kinship-Guardianship Option, 11 More Pending
    3. Support AB 12 California Fostering Connections to Success Act Today

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/check-out-the-fostering-connections-kinship-toolkit-online-5139.html/feed 0     Get the “insight,”a Useful Report to Track Outcomes for State’s Emancipated Youth http://www.heysf.org/useful-report-to-track-outcomes-for-emancipated-youth-5023.html http://www.heysf.org/useful-report-to-track-outcomes-for-emancipated-youth-5023.html#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 09:45:46 +0000 Justin Slaughter http://www.heysf.org/?p=5023 California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership publishes data for the education, employment, housing, and permancy outcomes of California's foster youth after they emancipated from the system for policymakers The publication, called insights, also compares the data to the outcome standards set by the National Child Welfare Standards. Intended for stakeholders, this issue examines how to interpret and use data to improve critical outcomes for children in care The report also includes policy implications for the outcomes of youth aging out of California's foster care system. Read full report. Intended for stakeholders, this issue examines how to interpret and use data to improve critical outcomes for children in care. Related posts:
    1. Foster Youth Education Initiative Releases Report on Improving Opportunities for Foster Youth
    2. New Resource: Online Clearinghouse for State Child Welfare Policies
    3. New Study on Foster Care in California Finds Significant Changes Over Last Decade
    ]]>     The California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership publishes data for the education, employment, housing, and permancy outcomes of California’s foster youth after they emancipated from the system for policymakers  The publication, called insights,  also compares the data to the  outcome standards set by the National Child Welfare Standards.

    Intended for stakeholders, this issue examines how to interpret and use data to improve critical outcomes for children in care The report also includes policy implications for the outcomes of youth aging out of California’s foster care system. Read full report. Intended for stakeholders, this issue examines how to interpret and use data to improve critical outcomes for children in care.

    Related posts:

    1. Foster Youth Education Initiative Releases Report on Improving Opportunities for Foster Youth
    2. New Resource: Online Clearinghouse for State Child Welfare Policies
    3. New Study on Foster Care in California Finds Significant Changes Over Last Decade

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/useful-report-to-track-outcomes-for-emancipated-youth-5023.html/feed 0     New Study on Foster Care in California Finds Significant Changes Over Last Decade http://www.heysf.org/new-study-on-foster-care-in-california-finds-significant-changes-over-last-decade-4950.html http://www.heysf.org/new-study-on-foster-care-in-california-finds-significant-changes-over-last-decade-4950.html#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:15:48 +0000 Justin Slaughter http://www.heysf.org/?p=4950 Public Policy Institute of California, since 2000 there has been a 45 percent drop in the share of California children in the state foster care system (even though in the last decade the overall population of children in California increased). More foster children now are remaining in their first out-of-home placement than ten years ago, and more children now are eventually placed with relatives--a main objective of the foster care providers. However, despite the significant reductions, the study finds that the number of children who age-out of the system has actually risen since 2000. Additionally, state payments to foster families have not kept up with inflation, black children continue to be overrepresented in the foster care system, and the share of children who enter foster care more than once during their childhood has increased. Read full report. Related posts:
    1. My So-Called Emancipation — From Foster Care to Homelessness for California Youth
    2. Advocates concerned over proposed cuts to foster care transition services
    3. New York Times Article: Financial Difficulties Strain California’s Foster Care System
    ]]>     According to a new study done by the Public Policy Institute of California, since 2000 there has been a 45 percent drop in the share of California children in the state foster care system (even though in the last decade the overall population of children in California increased). More foster children now are remaining in their first out-of-home placement than ten years ago, and more children now are eventually placed with relatives–a main objective of the foster care providers.

    However, despite the significant reductions, the study finds that the number of children who age-out of the system has actually risen since 2000. Additionally, state payments to foster families have not kept up with inflation, black children continue to be overrepresented in the foster care system, and the share of children who enter foster care more than once during their childhood has increased. Read full report.

    Related posts:

    1. My So-Called Emancipation — From Foster Care to Homelessness for California Youth
    2. Advocates concerned over proposed cuts to foster care transition services
    3. New York Times Article: Financial Difficulties Strain California’s Foster Care System

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/new-study-on-foster-care-in-california-finds-significant-changes-over-last-decade-4950.html/feed 0     National Foster Care Fact Sheets Available http://www.heysf.org/4517-4517.html http://www.heysf.org/4517-4517.html#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 22:24:06 +0000 Justin Slaughter http://www.heysf.org/?p=4517
  • Fact Sheets about Foster Care for the National Foster Care Month Campaign
  • Primary Prevention Programs for Child Maltreatment
  • NRCFCPPP Kinship Webpage Updated and Expanded
    • ]]>

    The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC) prepared these State Fact Sheets about Foster Care for the 2010 National Foster Care Month campaign. The Fact Sheets were updated in April 2010 with the most current available information as provided by the States. The Fact Sheets include information such as the number of children/youth in foster care; data on children in foster care related to age, gender, and race/ethnicity; the average length of stay in care; the percentage of children reunified with parents or primary caretakers; the number of licensed foster homes; the percentage of children living with relatives; and, the percentage of children adopted by foster parents and by relatives.
    http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/fact-sheets.html

    NRCPFC has also updated our complete listing of State foster care contacts for National Foster Care Month. For each State and the District of Columbia, the listing offers the appropriate organization/agency name, telephone number, and website for those interested in learning more about foster care or how to become a foster parent.
    http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/downloads/fact-sheets/Foster%20Care%20Contact%20List.pdf

    Related posts:

    1. Fact Sheets about Foster Care for the National Foster Care Month Campaign
    2. Primary Prevention Programs for Child Maltreatment
    3. NRCFCPPP Kinship Webpage Updated and Expanded

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/4517-4517.html/feed 0     FosterEdConnect.org http://www.heysf.org/fosteredconnect-org-4372.html http://www.heysf.org/fosteredconnect-org-4372.html#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 18:47:53 +0000 Josefina http://www.heysf.org/?p=4372 FosterEdConnect.org is an online community connecting and supporting California’s foster youth liaisons, foster youth advocates, and all professionals working to improve the educational outcomes of foster youth. FosterEdConnect.org is a central place where people working directly with foster youth can:
    • Find and share resources
    • Ask and answer questions
    • Read and post current news
    On FosterEdConnect.org, you will find everything from fact sheets explaining key legislation to handbooks and lesson plans. You will also be able to share your own resources with individuals in your county and throughout California. Members are encouraged to contribute new resources as they find or create them. Thus, FosterEdConnect.org will grow and change over time, along with the knowledge and expertise of its members. This website will also connect you to a network of individuals who share your goals. Here, you will be able to ask and answer questions, have conversations, and collaborate with experts and peers across the state. In addition, the website will keep you up-to-date on news and events relating to educational opportunities for foster youth. You will be able to read and upload news items, as well as learn about – and publicize your own – advocacy activities, trainings, conferences, and community events. Related posts:
    1. StrengthofUs.org
    2. New Study on Foster Care in California Finds Significant Changes Over Last Decade
    3. Reminder: March 16th Webinar Training Identity Theft and Vital Documents: Ensuring Foster Youth Access the Full Range of Financial Aid
    ]]>     FosterEdConnect.org is an online community connecting and supporting California’s foster youth liaisons, foster youth advocates, and all professionals working to improve the educational outcomes of foster youth.

    FosterEdConnect.org is a central place where people working directly with foster youth can:

    • Find and share resources
    • Ask and answer questions
    • Read and post current news

    On FosterEdConnect.org, you will find everything from fact sheets explaining key legislation to handbooks and lesson plans. You will also be able to share your own resources with individuals in your county and throughout California. Members are encouraged to contribute new resources as they find or create them. Thus, FosterEdConnect.org will grow and change over time, along with the knowledge and expertise of its members.

    This website will also connect you to a network of individuals who share your goals. Here, you will be able to ask and answer questions, have conversations, and collaborate with experts and peers across the state.

    In addition, the website will keep you up-to-date on news and events relating to educational opportunities for foster youth. You will be able to read and upload news items, as well as learn about – and publicize your own – advocacy activities, trainings, conferences, and community events.

    Related posts:

    1. StrengthofUs.org
    2. New Study on Foster Care in California Finds Significant Changes Over Last Decade
    3. Reminder: March 16th Webinar Training Identity Theft and Vital Documents: Ensuring Foster Youth Access the Full Range of Financial Aid

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/fosteredconnect-org-4372.html/feed 0     Fact Sheets about Foster Care for the National Foster Care Month Campaign http://www.heysf.org/fact-sheets-about-foster-care-for-the-national-foster-care-month-campaign-4364.html http://www.heysf.org/fact-sheets-about-foster-care-for-the-national-foster-care-month-campaign-4364.html#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 18:25:41 +0000 Josefina http://www.heysf.org/?p=4364 National Foster Care Month campaign. For each state and the District of Columbia you can find the following information:
    • Number of children in foster care
    • Average age and number of children in care by age range
    • Gender
    • Race/ethnicity of children in out-of-home care and of the general population in the state
    • Average length of stay in care
    • Percentage of children reunified with parents or primary caretakers
    • Number of licensed foster homes
    • Percent of youth living with relatives
    • Percent of children adopted by foster parents and by relatives
    • Contact information to find out how to become a foster parent in that state.
    Most data was supplied by the Children's Bureau for Fiscal Year 2003. Some states have provided more current statistics from their own data systems. http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/fact-sheets.html Related posts:
    1. National Foster Care Fact Sheets Available
    2. May is National Foster Care Month…You Can Change a Lifetime!
    3. National Foster Care Month 2010 Website
    ]]>     The NRCPFC prepared fact sheets about foster care for the National Foster Care Month campaign. For each state and the District of Columbia you can find the following information:

    • Number of children in foster care
    • Average age and number of children in care by age range
    • Gender
    • Race/ethnicity of children in out-of-home care and of the general population in the state
    • Average length of stay in care
    • Percentage of children reunified with parents or primary caretakers
    • Number of licensed foster homes
    • Percent of youth living with relatives
    • Percent of children adopted by foster parents and by relatives
    • Contact information to find out how to become a foster parent in that state.

    Most data was supplied by the Children’s Bureau for Fiscal Year 2003. Some states have provided more current statistics from their own data systems.

    http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/fact-sheets.html

    Related posts:

    1. National Foster Care Fact Sheets Available
    2. May is National Foster Care Month…You Can Change a Lifetime!
    3. National Foster Care Month 2010 Website

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/fact-sheets-about-foster-care-for-the-national-foster-care-month-campaign-4364.html/feed 0     UCB-CWS/CMS UPDATES — 1/11/2010: http://www.heysf.org/ucb-cwscms-updates-1112010-2727.html http://www.heysf.org/ucb-cwscms-updates-1112010-2727.html#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:35:13 +0000 admin http://heysf.org/?p=2727 [from the University of California Berkeley, UCB-CWS/CMS UPDATES -- 1/11/2010] Updates have been made for the Child Welfare Services Content Management System that is sponsored by the University of California Berkeley. Researchers at UCB collect all the data that is entered by Child Welfare Workers across the state of California and enter it into a content management system. The information is publicly available, so anyone can pull up data sets, cross reference data, and compare information about many different features of foster youth. For instance, you can learn about how many foster youth are in your country, their ages and what percentages of them are in different types of placements. Anyone can visit the website at http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare/ Our CWS outcomes spreadsheets and the Composite Viewer have now been updated with data from the Quarter 2, 2009 extract from CWS/CMS. Please visit our website to examine updated analyses, and to download a copy of your county's quarterly CWS outcomes spreadsheet. http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare/ Related posts:
    1. UCB-CWS/CMS UPDATES — 12/22/2009
    2. University of California Berkeley updates the Child Welfare Data
    3. San Francisco’s System Improvement Plan 2010 for Child Welfare Services
    ]]>     [from the University of California Berkeley, UCB-CWS/CMS UPDATES -- 1/11/2010]

    Updates have been made for the Child Welfare Services Content Management System that is sponsored by the University of California Berkeley. Researchers at UCB collect all the data that is entered by Child Welfare Workers across the state of California and enter it into a content management system. The information is publicly available, so anyone can pull up data sets, cross reference data, and compare information about many different features of foster youth. For instance, you can learn about how many foster youth are in your country, their ages and what percentages of them are in different types of placements.

    Anyone can visit the website at http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare/

    Related posts:

    1. UCB-CWS/CMS UPDATES — 12/22/2009
    2. University of California Berkeley updates the Child Welfare Data
    3. San Francisco’s System Improvement Plan 2010 for Child Welfare Services

    ]]>     http://www.heysf.org/ucb-cwscms-updates-1112010-2727.html/feed 0