Introduction

California's Dependency System is made up of many parts that fit together with varying degrees of success. The 58 county courts and child welfare departments must work with each other to ensure a fair process for the children and families. The county court has been given increasing responsibility to monitor the county welfare system's handling of individual cases. Federal and state law and state regulations determine the rules for the courts and the child welfare system. The Division of Child Welfare Services of the State Department of Social Services directs child welfare services from Sacramento, the county child welfare departments implement the program. Whether child abuse and neglect are prevented and affected children recover depends also on other governmental entities such as county health and probation departments, local schools and non-profit community organizations. Elected officials at the federal, state and county levels determine how much will be available to fund the system. This report describes the roles that each of these entities play and tries to explain the relationships among them and some of the tensions that result.

In addition much of the work of the Dependency System is affected by forces outside its control: the economy, the increase in family poverty, availability of community resources, increasing substance abuse, and attitudes of the public and elected officials towards abused and neglected children and their parents which in turn affects the demands placed on the system and resources provided. These forces determine what children come into the system, demands on the system and what resources are available.

The report makes ample use of recent studies of various parts of this complex system. Many of the recommendations of the studies are being implemented this year. Others are being seriously considered. This means that the system we describe here is changing. All we can do is portray what the system looks like at this point in time. The report makes use of the findings of the following reports, the recommendations of which are presented in the Appendices. We also report on important changes in the law which are affecting the system.

1. In 1994 the American Bar Association Center on Children and Law successfully lobbied Congress to establish the Court Improvement Project which provides grants to the highest court in a state to assess their dependency court system, recommend improvements and implement them. In 1997, the California Judicial Council completed their assessment and made recommendations under the California Court Improvement Project, and also developed a Judicial Council Long-Range Strategic Plan. As well, Judge Leonard Edwards of the Santa Clara Court has developed a list of 23 steps to improve county courts. (See Appendix A: California Court Improvement Project)

2. In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRA) which cuts federal funding for state child protection services, reduces eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for some foster and adopted children with disabilities, and could increase the number of California children needing child protection services as their parents lose welfare support. (See Appendix E: Effects of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRA)

3. In 1996, the Children's Research Institute of California convened a California Policy Summit on Kinship Care to develop policy. Some of their recommendations have already become law and others are pending before the legislature. (See Appendix B: The California Policy Summit on Kinship Care)

4. In October 1996, The Children's Advocates' Roundtable and Minorities In Law Enforcement (MILE) hosted a California Children's Policy Summit.

5. From August, 1996 to April 1997, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) hosted 6 public policy forums attended by key policy makers and stakeholders in out-of-home care programs. Out-of-Home Care for Children and Families: Public Policy Forums: Final Report published by CDSS is the result.

6. In 1997, Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act which, among other things, places more emphasis on ensuring that foster children likely to stay out-of-the-home are found a permanent placement by the end of 12 months, by encouraging that a plan for a permanent placement be developed at the same time as efforts are made to solve the problems with the birth family. (See Chapter I: The Juvenile Court, the section on The Juvenile Court Today)

7. California's Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Project was approved by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on August 19, 1997, permitting implementation of three pilot projects serving approximately four thousand foster children in as many as 32 counties or locations over the next five years. Key sections of federal and state statute which currently limit the use of foster care funds will be waived, allowing the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and participating counties to use available dollars with more flexibility in three very specific areas. (See California's Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Project in Chapter IX: Funding for California's Dependency System)

8. The 1997 California Trial Court Funding Act places allocation of county dependency court funding in the state general fund budget, based on recommendations of the California Judicial Council, and their standards for county courts. This should provide more consistency across the state, among the 58 counties.

9. For six months of 1997-98, The California Foster Children's Health Project Task Force, composed of more than 30 of the state's top experts on California's foster care system, met to develop recommendations to improve the delivery of health services to children in foster care. (See Chapter IV: Health Care for Foster Children and Appendix C: Recommendations of the Foster Children's Health Project Task Force)

10. In March 1998, The Foundation Consortium, The California Wellness Foundation, the Senate Office of Research, the Pacific Center for Violence Prevention, the newly-formed CCS Partnership (Cities, Counties, Schools), and Minorities in Law Enforcement sponsored a working policy conference on comprehensive, community-based approaches to improve outcomes for children, youth and families. (See Chapter VII: Collaboration)

11. The same month, the Children's Defense Fund held their annual National Conference in Los Angeles. Several of the workshops dealt with national child protection issues and some featured innovative California programs.

12. At their June 1998 meeting, the Board of the County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) adopted an Issue Paper on Child Welfare Services in California which makes a series of recommendations regarding the case workload of Child Welfare Services (CWS) social workers in California. (See Chapter IX: Funding for California's Dependency System and Appendix G: Recommendations of the County Welfare Directors Association Report)

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