As members of the Child Welfare community in California, we recognize the crisis that exists for youth in foster care, particularly those between the ages of 11-18, who lack a permanent connection with an adult or family. We hereby declare our commitment to support and achieve permanent lifelong connections (permanency) for all children and youth, and that:

We are deeply concerned that approximately 80,000 foster children are in care in California, many of whom are unable to return to their families, and who thus rely on the foster care system to provide them with a family and a sense of permanent belonging; and

Youth in foster care need the same permanent connections to a committed adult or family as youth in the general population; and

A committed adult is one who provides a safe, stable and secure type of parenting relationship; love; unconditional commitment; and lifelong support in the context of family reunification, legal adoption, guardianship or some other form of committed lifelong relationship; and

Many foster youth have no relationships with adults other than the professionals who assist them in foster care and many leave care without a single lasting relationship or connection with any adult; and

Approximately 4,000 foster youth "age out" of the foster care system each year in California when they turn 18 to face daunting odds including high rates of homelessness, school drop-out and unemployment; and

Many negative outcomes experienced by foster youth are a result of having no one to turn to for help and support once they exit the foster care system; and

Former foster youth repeatedly state that a lifelong connection and a relationship with a supportive and committed adult, related by blood or not, is one of the key factors associated with their resilience and the single greatest impact on their ability to navigate the transition to adulthood; and

We commend the innovative work of many in the child welfare community who are adopting and implementing new practices to secure permanent connections for foster children including involvement of the youth as key participants in the process of defining and securing permanent relationships; and

We acknowledge that public and private child welfare professionals must work in partnership with the youth in defining lifelong connections that are permanent, secure and healthy; and

We commend the leadership role of the California Permanency for Youth Project in acting as a resource to public and private child welfare agencies, providing training, inspiration and support to obtain lifelong relationships for teens in foster care; and

We acknowledge that the current resources devoted to achieving permanence for foster youth are not commensurate with the magnitude of the need; so therefore

We commit to work within our organizations, agencies, and communities and through the growing permanency for foster youth movement to support and promote these objectives by doing the following:

Promote recognition of and respect for the urgent need to ensure every foster youth has at least one lifelong permanent relationship;

Educate all we come into contact with about the need, urgency, and promising practices for achieving permanence for foster youth;

Support local and statewide projects and efforts to raise awareness, recommend policy changes, increase funding for and provide assistance to improve older youths' opportunities to develop a lifelong connection with a committed adult before leaving foster care;

Initiate change within our own organizations to support youth permanence and lifelong connections.

Fortify our common commitment to the permanence of foster youth as an obligation of the entire child welfare and human community to the children in our foster care system.

 

 

 

 

Declaration Signatories (received through 08/30/07):

 

A Home Within, Toni Vaughn Heineman, Executive Director

Adolescent Counseling Services, Joy Reeve, Program Director

Agape Villages Foster Family Agency, Janet Kleyn, President & CEO

Alameda County Social Services Agency, Chet Hewitt, Director

Aldea Children and Family Services, Allen Ewig, Executive Director

Alpine County Health and Human Services, Cindy Hannah, Director

Alternative Family Services, Jay Berlin, Executive Director

Amador County Department of Social Services, Jackie Steele, Director

Aviva Family and Children's Services, Andrew Diamond, President & CEO

Bay Area Youth Centers, Josh Leonard, Executive Director

Bienvenidos Children's Center, Lorraine Castro, CEO

Butte County Department of Employment and Social Services, Cathi Grams, Director

Calaveras Works and Human Services Agency, Mary Sawicki, Director

California Alliance of Child and Family Services, Silvia Orlando, President

California Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association, Denis Loiseau,
   Board President; Robin Allen, Executive Director

California Department of Social Services, Mary Ault, Deputy Director

California Youth Connection, Janet Knipe, Executive Director

Canyon Acres Children and Family Services, Clete Menke, Executive Director

CASA for Riverside County, Inc., Marilynn Yeates, Executive Director

CASA of Contra Costa County, Keith Archuleta, Executive Director

CASA of El Dorado County, Michael Rex, President

CASA of Fresno and Madera Counties, Karen Chao-Bushoven, Executive Director

CASA of Imperial County, Nancie Lee Rhodes, Executive Director

CASA of Los Angeles, Brian Borys, Executive Director

CASA of Monterey County, Siobhan M. Greene, Executive Director

CASA of Santa Cruz County, Nancy Sherrod, Executive Director

CASA of Solano County, Maria Moses, Executive Director

CASA of Sonoma County, Millie Gilson, Executive Director

CASA of Tulare County, Marilyn Barr, Executive Director

Casa Pacifica, Steven E. Elson, CEO

CASA, A Voice for Children, Lola Chester, Executive Director

Casey Family Programs, Miryam J. Choca, California Strategic Director

Center for Human Services, UC Davis Extension, Michael Lawler, Director

Central California Public School Services Training Academy, David J. Foster,
   Project Director

Child Abuse Prevention Council of Placer County, DeAnne Thornton, Executive Director

Child Advocates of San Bernardino County, Jenna Colborn, Executive Director

Child Welfare League of America, Cheryl Gully, Regional Director

Children Are Our Future, Inc., Michael B. Linquata, Executive Director

Children's Bureau, Alex Morales, President & CEO

Children's Institute, Inc., Mary M. Emmons, President & CEO

Children's Receiving Home of Sacramento, Rani H. Pettis, President

Colusa County Department of Health and Human Services, Philip S. Reinheimer,
   Director

Concept 7 Family Support & Treatment Centers, David Dalke, Chairman of the Board

Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services Organization, Danna Fabella,
   Interim Director

Courage to Change, Susan Gambini, Administrator

Crittenton Services for Children and Families, Joyce Capelle, CEO

Crossroads Treatment Center, Laynee Kuhn, Executive Director

David and Margaret Home, Georgia Shannon, Board President

Del Norte County Department of Health and Social Services, Gary R. Blatnick,
   Director/Public Guardian

Edgewood Center for Children and Families, Nancy Rubin, CEO

El Dorado County Department of Human Services, John Litwinovich, Director

EMQ Children and Family Services, Darrell Evora, President & CEO

Ettie Lee Youth and Family Services, Clayton L. Downey, President & CEO

Families First, Walter Grubbs, President & CEO

Family Builders by Adoption, Jill Jacobs, Executive Director

Family Care Network, Inc., James W. Roberts, CEO

Five Acres, Robert Ketch, Executive Director

Fred Finch Youth Center, John F. Steinfirst, President & CEO

Fresno County Department of Children and Family Services, Gary Zomalt, Director

Girls and Boys Town of Southern California, Keith E. Deiderich, President & CEO

Glenn County Human Resource Agency, Kim W. Gaghagen, Director

Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, William P. Martone, President & CEO

Health Care Dual Diagnosis, Edna Miller, President

Hillsides, John M. Hitchcock, Executive Director

Honoring Emancipated Youth (H.E.Y.), Michele Byrnes, Director

Human Services Network, Don Joaquin Shelton, Executive Director

Human Services Projects, Inc., Marti Fredericks, Executive Director

Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, Beverly Morgan Lewis,
   Director, Social Services Branch

Imperial County Department of Social Services, James Semmes, Director

Inner Circle Foster Care and Adoption Services, Diane Furubotten, Executive Director

Inyo County Department of Health and Human Services, Jean Dickinson, Director

Kern Bridges Youth Homes, John Bacon, Executive Director

Kern County Department of Human Services, Larry J. Rhoades, Director

Kids First Foundation, Jana A. Trew, Executive Director/Assistant Vice President

Kings County Human Services Agency, Peggy Montgomery, Director

Kinship Center, Amanda Gourley, Board President; Carol Biddle, Executive Director

Lake County Department of Social Services, Carol J. Huchingson, Director

Lassen County Family and Children Protective Services, Terri O'Bryan, Director

L.A.S.T. Transition House, Linda Turner, President & CEO

LeRoy Haynes Center, Darrell Paulk, CEO

Lincoln Child Center, Christine Stoner-Mertz, President

Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, David Sanders,
   Director

Madera County Department of Social Services, Hubert Walsh, Director

Marin County Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Social Services,
   Charlotte Reid, Director

Mariposa County Department of Human Services, Cheryle Rutherford-Kelly, Director

Martin's Achievement Place, James R. Martin, Assistant Executive Director

Maryvale, Sister Betty Marie Dunkel, Executive Director

Masonic Homes of California at Covina, Marissa Espinoza, Director of Children's
   Services

Mathiot Group Homes, Randall Beaida, Executive Director

Mendocino Department of Social Services, Steve Prochter, Deputy Director

Merced County Human Services Agency, Ana Pagan, Director

Milhous Children's Services, Mike Stine, Executive Director

Modoc County Social Services Organization, Pauline Cravens, Director

Mono County Department of Social Services, G. Edward Zylman, Director

Monterey County Department of Social and Employment Services, Elliott Robinson,
   Director

Moss Beach Homes, Vernon Brown, CEO

Nevada County Human Services Agency, Jeffrey S. Brown, Director

Napa County Health and Human Services Agency, Linda Canan, Child Welfare Services
   Director

Open Line Group Homes, Inc., David Darrah, CEO

Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services, Silvio John Orlando, Executive Director

Orange County Social Services Agency, Ingrid Harita, Director

Paradise Oaks Youth Services, Frank Schellhous, CEO

Peacock Acres, Ernest Howard, CEO

Penny Lane Centers, Ivelise Markovits, CEO

Placer County Health & Human Services Administration, Richard J. Burton, Director

Plumas County Social Services, Elliott Smart, Director

Plumas Rural Services, Michele Lynn Piller, Executive Director

Rebekah Children's Services, David Tollner, Executive Director; Michael R. McGraft,
   Chief Operations Officer

Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, Jennie Pettett, Deputy
   Director

Rosemary Children's Services, Selwyn Brereton, President

Sacramento Children's Home, Nick Clevenger, Board President; Roy Alexander, CEO

Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services, Leland Tom, Deputy
   Director

San Benito County Health and Human Services Agency, Kathy Flores, Director

San Bernardino Human Services System, Linda Haugan, Director

San Diego Center for Children, Mary Giffin, Executive Director

San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, Mary C. Harris, Deputy Director

San Francisco City and County Department of Human Services, Trent Rhorer, Director

San Joaquin County Human Services Agency, Joseph E. Chelli, Director

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services, Leland W. Collins, Director

San Mateo County Human Services Agency, Glen Brooks, Director

Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services, Kathy Gallagher, Director

Santa Clara County Social Services Agency, Will Lightbourne, Director

Santa Cruz County Human Resources Agency, Cecilia Espinola, Director

Seneca Center, Ken Berrick, CEO

Share Homes Adoption and Foster Care Agency, Doug Clark, Deputy Director

Shasta County Department of  Social Services, Sher Huss, Director

Sierra Adoption Services, Gail Johnson, Executive Director

Sierra County Human Services, Donna L. May, Director

Sierra Vista Child and Family Services, Judy Kindle, Executive Director

Siskiyou County Human Services, Nadine M. Della Bitta, Director

Solano County, John M. Vasquez, Chair, Solano County Board of Supervisors

Sonoma County Human Services Department, Carol Bauer, Director, Family, Youth &
   Children's Division

Southern California Foster Family and Adoption Agency, Sylvia Fogelman, CEO

St. Andrew's Residential Programs/STAR, Steuart R. Samuels, Executive Director

St. Anne's, Allison Simpson, Chair, Program Committee

St. Francis Home for Children, Michael Carey, Director

St. Patrick's Home for Children, Michael Kiernan, Executive Director

Stanford Home for Children, Erik Sternad, Executive Director

Stanislaus County Community Services Agency, Ken R. Patterson, Deputy Director

Star View Children and Family Services, Mary Jane Gross, President

Starlight Adolescent Center, Lori Williams, Board President

Stars Behavioral Health Group, Mary Jane Gross, President

Success in Recovery, Inc., Carol McNabb, Board President; Michelle Weintz, CEO

Summitview Child Treatment Center, Carla L. Wills, Executive Director

Sunny Hills Services, Julie McMillan, Board President; Joseph M. Costa, CEO

Sutter County Welfare and Social Services Division, Lori Harrah, Director

Sweeney Youth Homes, Sharon Sweeney, Executive Director

Tahoe Turning Point, Rich Barma, Executive Director

Tehama County Department of Social Services, Christine C. Applegate, Director

Triad Family Services, Dean Cowan, CEO

Trinity County Health and Human Services Department, Linda Wright, Director

Trinity Youth Services, John Neiuber, CEO

Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency, John Davis, Director

Tuolumne County Human Services Agency, Ann Connolly, Director

UC Berkeley Center on Weight and Health, Joanne Ikeda, Founding Director

Unity Care, André Chapman, President & CEO

Valley Teen Ranch, Connie Clendenan, CEO

Ventura County Human Services Agency, Ted Myers, Director

Victor Treatment Centers, David C. Favor, CEO

Vista del Mar Child and Family Services, Elias Lefferman, President & CEO

Voices for Children, CASA of San Diego, Sharon M. Lawrence, Executive Director

Wide Horizons Ranch, Bruce Wendt, President

Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services, Pamela S. Miller,
   Director

Youth for Change, Keith Robbins, Board President

Youth Law Center, Carole Shauffer, Executive Director

Yuba County Health and Human Services Department, Suzanne Nobles, Director

Zellerbach Family Foundation, Ellen Walker, Program Executive