A recent Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury report, investigating the county’s Child Welfare Services, found that the department “lacks stability.”
According to the report, “While Child Welfare Services (CWS) has a process to deal with the children at each age stage in the system from initial contact, to court hearing, to permanent placement, to family reunification or to adoption, the continuity of a key social worker is missing.”
The report found that, at each step in the process, there is a change in social workers, along with the possibility of a change in living situations. This discontinuity often causes foster children to have trouble forming trusting relationships with adults.
In Santa Barbara County, the emancipation process begins in foster care at the age of 15 and half years old and ends when the child turns 18 years old.
In the report, the grand jury raised concerns about the challenges faced by emancipated youth to find homes and jobs. While there are programs in place to prepare former foster children for independence, the report said, many have trouble maintaining successful, healthy lifestyles.
Recent data collected by the grand jury show that of the 38 youths emancipated in the county as of June 30, 2007, approximately 12, or 32 percent, of them were homeless within six months.
In 2001, a Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury expressed concern over the high turnover rate of social workers working in Child Welfare Services. Turnover rates have not improved, but rather increased dramatically over the past five years.
Santa Barbara County Communications Director William Boyer said that the county is currently reviewing the grand jury report and will respond to it accordingly.
A copy of the full report can be found at the grand jury Web site, www.sbcgj.org.
In a separate report, the same civil grand jury acknowledged the nonprofit volunteer organization Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County for “the exemplary services provided to the children who are forced by circumstances to be wards of the court.”
According to the report, last year in Santa Barbara County, CASA served 210 children. However, approximately 120 children remained on a waiting list for an advocate.
CASA volunteers are often the only stable figures in their foster children’s lives, and represent the children in court. They visit their foster children at least once a week and help them with schoolwork, foster placement and, for the older children, preparation for emancipation.
“We’re very excited about the report,” CASA of Santa Maria Valley’s volunteer coordinator Kim Davis said. “I think it’s rare that the grand jury commends an organization.”
For more information about CASA of Santa Barbara County, visit www.sbcasa.org.
This article appears in Jul 3-10, 2008.
