Social Policy: Foster Care (1991, 1999, 2017, 2021)

Social Policy: Foster Care (1991, 1999, 2017, 2021)

Support of services which decrease the number of children needing foster care, and which provide safe and supportive foster care when required.
Position In Brief: 
  1. The primary goals of foster care in Humboldt County are the physical, emotional, and social protection, care, and growth of each child.

  2. Support coordination, cooperation and open communication among all agencies providing services to families and children that emphasize timely actions and that eliminate redundancy, including.

  • Programs which focus on the child, such as CASA, and which address mental health and wellness. 

  • Programs such as the Homebuilder Model and Homemaker Services that emphasize birth and resource family stability.

  1. Support policies to reduce psychological disruption of the child.

  2. Support efforts to ensure compatible matches of child and foster home by increasing the number of licensed foster homes available to children in need.

  3. Provide enough emergency placements for the number of children needing placement.

  4. Support family reunification when it is in the best interest of the child.

  5. Support separate staff positions for recruiting, training, assisting, and retaining foster parents.

  6. Support public education to inform citizens of the need for foster parents.

  7. Support a grievance procedure in which biological and foster parents can address concerns without fear of reprisal.

  8.  Support for adequately funded, comprehensive, culturally appropriate services, including:

  • Respite/recreational/educational opportunities for children and birth/resource families.

  • Recognition of the unique needs of older resource families.

  • Providers of legal services and health care

  1. Support appropriate educational services from pre-school to higher education.

  2. Require adequately funded rigorous adherence to federal and state laws pertaining to children in foster care, including the Indian Child Welfare Act and subsequent legislation.

  3. Encourage efforts to place children in supportive environments, with attention cultural identity and gender.

  4. Support efforts to ensure that foster children of legal age are encouraged to register to vote.

Issues: 
League to which this content belongs: 
Humboldt County