SB 1667 (Kuehl):
Foster Caregiver Input for Juvenile Court Hearings

THE GOAL

Foster and kinship parents caring for abused and neglected children should know how to provide critical information to juvenile court judges making decisions about children.

THE PROBLEM

Foster and kinship parents caring for abused and neglected children on a daily basis have important information about their foster or kin child’s needs. Although these caregivers have a legal right to provide written input or attend some juvenile court hearings under current law, most caregivers do not know about this right or understand the procedures available for providing input for court decision making. The lack of input from relatives and foster parents caring for dependent children undermines quality decision making in California juvenile courts. As several recent cases indicate, children may not receive appropriate services or, in extreme cases, suffer injury or death when information from their caregivers is excluded from the court decision making process.

Additionally, California lacks sufficient numbers of foster caregivers for the 86,000 foster children under court jurisdiction. Research from both the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the National Center for State Legislatures demonstrates that foster caregivers desire greater opportunity to voice their concerns about their foster children. The number one reason caregivers decide to quit fostering is having no say in the child’s future. Moreover, research from the California Judicial Council confirms that foster caregivers successfully participate in court when given appropriate tools to do so, that judges want the information they provide, and that children benefit when their caregivers provide input to the court.

THE LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION

• SB 1667 requires child welfare agencies to attach a copy of the existing Judicial Council Caregiver Information Form (JV-290) to the notice of hearing form for review, permanency, and post-permanency hearings that must be provided to foster and kinship parents along with instructions on how to file it with the juvenile court.

• SB 1667 requires child welfare agencies to provide the Caregiver Information Form (JV-290) in the caregiver’s primary language, when possible. (The form is already available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese).

• SB 1667 begins the process of changing the culture from one of exclusion to one of active participation by foster parents and relatives caring for children in foster care.

 

For more information, contact:

Jonathan Snowden, Office of Senator Sheila Kuehl (916) 651-4023

Regina Deihl, Legal Advocates for Permanent Parenting (LAPP) - (650) 712-1442