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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06161987 - IO.1 To BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Contra June ' 8, 1987 Costa DATE; COUP SUBJECT: Adopt a Foster Child Program Icy SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . Approve the concept of a trust fund to meet the "emanicipation needs" of those wards of the court and dependent children of the court who reach adulthood and have their court status terminated without having available to them an adequate support system to assist in the transition to adulthood and independence. 2. Authorize the Social Services Director to request the Juvenile Hall Auxiliary to serve as fiscal intermediary for the trust fund and explore with the Auxiliary their willingness to also allocate funds to young adults in need of emancipation funds. 3 . Authorize the Social Services Director to assign the lead responsibility for coordinating the fund to a member of his staff. 4 . Request the Social Services Director to prepare a report to the Board on the details of how the trust fund will operate and how fund-raising for the trust fund will be undertaken and report his plans and recommendations to the Board of Supervisors at his earliest convenience. 5 . Request that the Social Services Director and County Probation Officer write to all group homes used by Contra Costa County pointing out the need for the group home staff to assume some responsibility to insure that children in placement in group homes are encouraged to take vocational training courses which will facilitate their transition to adulthood and independence in cases where college is not an appropriate goal. 6. Extend the Board' s congratulations to the Social Services Director and his staff for the efforts they have underway to increase the training opportunities for foster parents. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT; _X_ YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE _ APPROVE 74 OTHER W•/" \ SIGNATURE(S : Nancy C Fanden Tom Torlakson ACTION OF BOARD ON lilne 1b. 19,87 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ~_ ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TARN AYES: NOES. AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. cc: Listed on Page 3 ATTESTED JUN 16 1987 PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382/7-83 BY 4'L Q=" DEPUTY Page 2 7 . Request the Social Services Director to develop a system of credits, financial incentives and awards to foster parents who take advantage of training opportunities. Request the Social Services Director to refer the system of credits, financial incentives and awards to the Family & Children' s Services Advisory Committee for their comments to the Board of Supervisors on the proposed program. 8. If legislation is necessary in order to implement the systems of credits, financial incentives and awards, request the Social Services Director to outline the necessary legislation and forward it to the Board for consideration as a part of the Board' s 1988 Legislative Program. 9 . Approve in concept the Social Services Director' s plans to contract with a private firm to assist in recruitment of foster parents through the use of video advertisements and other media vehicles with the understanding that any actual contract will be presented to the Board through normal channels. 10. Suggest that the Social Services Director apply for funds through the County' s community cable TV, access fund to develop and advertise a program to recruit foster parents. 11. Request the Social Services Director to outline legislation needed to prohibit the current practice whereby one county outbids another county for the use. of specialized foster care beds thereby creating artificial shortages for the county unable to outbid for these scarce beds. 12. Request that the Chairs of the Human Services Advisory Commission, Family and Children' s Services Advisory Committee, Juvenile Justice Commission, a representative from the Group Home Study Committee and appropriate County staff jointly request appointments with this County' s legislative delegation to discuss this report and emphasize the need for legislative action on the several legislative recommendations made herein. 13 . Request the Social Services Director to outline legislation needed to require that the State Department of Social Services take into account in fixing group home rates sudden and unexpected increases in liability insurance premiums which are not now allowable expenses in determining such rates. 14. Request the County Administrator to forward copies of this report to the Governor of California, the Speaker of the Assembly, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Chair of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and this County' s legislative delegation. BACKGROUND: On the recommendation of Supervisor Fanden, the Social Services Department has been working with the Family and Children' s Services Advisory Committee and Supervisor Fanden' s, staff on the concept of a trust fund to help older foster children meet their emancipation needs during the time leading up to their 18th birthday when court jurisdiction is dismissed and the young adult is thrust, sometimes ill-prepared, into the adult world. To assist in this transition, our Committee discussed the attached report with the Social Services Director on June 8, 1987 . The first four recommendations in this report deal directly with this unmet need which has been identified by Social Services staff as a high priority. d Page 3 Our discussion ranged beyond this more specific need to the needs of younger foster children for better trained foster parents, to the need for more foster parents and to the Department' s plans to recruit more foster parents and provide them better training. Our discussion with Mr. Jornlin and his staff also touched on some of the legislative barriers to accomplishing the goals our Committee shares with the Social Services Department. Our Committee believes that each of these recommendations will help to further increases in the number of foster homes, the level of their training, the readiness of group home residents to obtain jobs and become self-supporting upon reaching adulthood, eliminating barriers to this County' s ability to place children in specialized foster homes and group homes and to alerting our legislators to some of the problems in this area which only they can resolve. cc: County Administrator Social Services Director Chair, HSAC Chair, FACSAC Chair, Juvenile Justice Commission Group Home Study Committee (via CAO) County Probation Officer Named Legislators (via CAO) Governor Deukmejian (via CAO)