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Question of the Week
Q: Are there any restrictions regarding married former foster youth applying for the THP-Plus program? For the answer, follow this LINK.
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State Shares Best Practices for Concurrent Placement of Dependents & Wards
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has released All County Information Notice (ACIN) No. I-75-16 to clarify existing law which permits dependents and wards of the juvenile court to live together in the same placement as long as the social worker or probation officer with placement authority has determined that the placement setting has a program that meets the needs of the youth being placed, and there is a commonality of needs with the other youth in the placement setting.
Existing law requires an individualized, case-specific determination as to whether a home is able to meet the needs of the youth. The ACIN encourages collaborative decision-making that includes all stakeholders when making individual case plan decisions for the concurrent placement of dependents and wards, and lists examples of best practices to consider.
These examples include the nature of the ward’s offense, commonality of needs of youth placed together, pre-existing relationships with the caregiver and children in the home, preferential consideration for placing sibling sets together, and placing youth in the least restrictive home-based setting. Download the ACIN by following this LINK.
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State Leadership: Results of Presidential Election Inconsistent with California’s Values
On November 9th, California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon released a joint statement sending a clear message that the results of the California Presidential election are inconsistent with the values of the people of California.
State leadership has committed to “lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution”, and states plans to reach out to federal, state and local officials to evaluate how a Trump Presidency will potentially impact federal funding of ongoing state programs, job-creating investments reliant on foreign trade, and federal enforcement of laws affecting the rights of people living in our state. To read the full statement, follow this LINK.
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Video Series Shares Stories of Youth Prosecuted & Incarcerated in Adult System
National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) has released a powerful video series on the effects of prosecuting and incarcerating youth in the adult system. According to NCYL, each year, nearly 1,000 California youth are prosecuted, sentenced, and incarcerated as adults, despite research and legal holdings finding youth to be especially capable of rehabilitation. The youth sent to adult criminal court by prosecutors are almost entirely young people of color. These youth receive significantly longer sentences and serve those sentences in adult prisons with few education or rehabilitative services.
In the fall of 2016, NCYL interviewed young people that survived California’s adult criminal justice system and documented their stories in short videos. The purpose of the series is to demonstrate that young people are redeemable and important; face numerous, complex challenges and need help, not harm; and that California can do better than the current approaches that focus on punishment to exclusion of education and rehabilitation for youth in trouble with the law. To watch the video series, follow this LINK.
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Factsheet Lists State Laws on Court Hearings for Out-of-Home Placement
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau has released a factsheet on court hearings for the permanent placement of children. Court hearings are used to review the status and determine the permanent placement of children who have been placed in out-of-home care. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 (P.L. 105-89) aimed to provide added safety and permanency for children in out-of-home care, establishing requirements for 6-month court review hearings or administrative reviews and permanency planning hearings.
The factsheet summarizes by state, the type and frequency of court review hearings held to review the status of children placed in out-of-home care, lists the individuals who may attend the hearings, describes the determinations made at the hearings, and lists the permanency options. It also lists each state’s laws mandating the type and frequency of court hearings. To download the factsheet, follow this LINK.
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Judicial Council Training: Legal Updates Related to Continuum of Care Reform
The Judicial Council of California’s Center for Families, Children & the Courts is hosting a training in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 30th, "Continuum of Care Reform: Improving Permanency Outcomes and Repairing Out of Home Care".
This free course will provide legal updates related to the Continuum of Care Reform, including new legal requirements for establishing permanency, relative finding and placement, and improving out of home care by reducing the reliance on congregate care, improving services to support placements and modifying procedures related to the formation of case plans.
Participants will learn and discuss strategies for implementation of the Continuum of Care Reform mandates including increased reunification and non-offending parent placements, improved family finding and family based placements, improved foster placements and decreased congregate care placements. For more information, follow this LINK. To register, follow this LINK.
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