GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Orange County Dependency Court Improvement Summit
February 2006

Close to 180 professionals, including judges, community leaders, foster parents, attorneys, and folks from service agencies and child welfare offices participated in the first Orange County Dependency Court Improvement Summit on February 3, 2006 at the Beardall Senior Center in Orlando.  Convened by the Juvenile Court,  the summit was a collaboration of DCF,  Family Services of Metro Orlando,  the Orange County Legal Aid Society and Community Service Center of South Orange County.  After the seminars and breakout meetings, the final product of the summit was a list of comprehensive goals and objectives which are reported below on the Ninth Circuit’s web page (www.ninja9.org).  These constitute needed changes that the court will work on with its partners to implement to benefit Orange County’s dependent children.  A report card on the progress on those tasks and goals will be reviewed at the next Orange County Summit – planned for next year. 

I  DJJ Crossover Issues

Objective:  Avoid duplication/interruption of services available to children in crossover cases; implement a tracking system of DJJ/delinquency cases; reduce number of children unnecessarily placed under DCF jurisdiction; get timely notice to judge and DCF when foster child runaway is picked up by DJJ.

  1. Unified Family court – unify handling by one judge doing the dep. and the delinq. case for the child (problems include multiple children in a DCF case, and multiple parties)

  2. Develop statistics and reporting on cross-over kids

  3. Coordinate with DJJ, JDC, JAC  and PD to identify foster kids and get notice when they are
    incarcerated

  4. Identify placement options for Delinq. youth who can’t go home

  5. Coordinate agreements between DCF/FSMO  and DJJ and DCF 

  6. Special Protective Investigator to handle cross-over kids


II  Independent Living/Older Children Post-Secondary Educational Needs

Objective:  Ensure that older children, in foster care, are actually prepared to live independently/have basic needs met post-18; SSI, Medicaid, Developmental Disability (deadlines); food, clothing, shelter;  RTI, tuition voucher; transitioning funding/services from pre-18 to post 18; developing a protocol or checklist to ensure that no 18 year old formerly in foster care becomes homeless.

  1. Have special case workers for IL kids – an IL specialist in each unit

  2. Have a special JR report for IL kids -  which is easy to use and attaches meaningful reports

  3. Require caretakers to attend trainings and provide transportation

  4. Prepare video and web-based trainings and field trips to schools

  5. Take a team approach for groups of IL foster youth

  6. Link IL kids to clubs or organizations for networking with each other

  7. Establish an IL house

  8. Set up better communications between workers on everything

  9. Get mentors for kids


III  Community Resources

Objective:  Ensure that affordable services promptly reach the parents/custodians/foster parents and children that need them; promote effective dissemination of  information on services.  Improve contact with community resource providers; ensure that case managers/workers foster parents are aware of available resources; identify and increase availability of resources needed or expected to be needed.  Encourage cooperation between providers to better serve their customers.

  1. There should be a single uniform services application form accepted by all our community service providers, which could also serve as a screening tool -  to simplify intake for the consuming public.

  2. Services should be evaluated from the perspective of the customer.

  3. A human answering the phone where possible.

  4. One stop intake necessary due to transportation problems.

  5. Provide better access to services for relatives and custodians.

  6. Affordable Housing a big problem, need deposits for first and last months rent

  7. BIP (Batterers Intervention Programs) cost too much and last too long.

  8. Transportation is a big problem.


IV  Role of the Judiciary

Objective:  Ensure and enforce compliance with the law and court’s orders.  Meet the children’s & parents’ needs; speed up permancy -  ICPC, OTI, adoptions.  Get GALs and adequate AAL’s for children.  Utilize technology to improve courtroom efficiencies and to improve scheduling for court hearings, case plan conferences, mediations, etc. Collect, report and analyze data on case performance.  Collaborate with child welfare system participants – foster parents, custodians, etc. to ensure their full participation.  Work with system stakeholders (including community volunteers) to improve outcomes for children.  Promote judicial competency and training. 

            1.  Parents should receive a one page summary of case plan tasks

            2.  Foster parent anonymity should be assured in court-  use badges in court.

            3.  Custodians need to be introduced to the new case worker.

            4.  Enforce time frames on homestudies and improve out of county home study time

            5.  Have way for new parties to a case easily identify and contact the case worker

            6.  Ensure training for foster parents on reactive attachment disorder

            7.  Ensure support groups for foster parents

            8.  Ensure that case workers respect parents’ right to counsel

            9.  Find way for custodians and foster parents to get notice of court hearings

           10.  Speed ICPC’s  and OTI’s

           11.  Increase and speed adoptions

           12.  Manage Independent Living services to ensure they happen as per statute.

           13.  Monitor Master Trust and other money accounts to ensure proper handling by DCF

           14.  Ensure proper handling and tracking of kids’ possessions by DCF


V  Dependent Children School Issues

Objective:  Maintain continuity in children’s education; provide timely assessments to  identify and meet childrens’ educational needs; transportation; work with surrogate parents and safe officers; ensure access to tutoring and educational activities; address home schooling issues.

  1. Ensure surrogate parents are appointed for children who qualify, and that they do their jobs

  2. Work to decrease changes of school for kids.

  3. Ensure surrogate parents report in at court hearings.

  4. Get tutors for kids

  5. Transportation for kids in shelter to school of origin

  6. Coordinate functions with foster care designees at the schools


VI  Master Trust Accounts

Objective:  Maximize and best utilize  funds to meet the child’s needs; monitor accounts & train to ensure compliance/prevent over-accumulation; forward benefits upon child leaving care.

  1. Promote expenditures for kids for necessary and enrichment items

  2. Ensure that monies are properly spent and not returned due to not being utilized

  3. Conduct proper trainings of case workers and case managers on master trust issues

  4. Secure funding for all children who qualify

  5. Get monthly reports on all the various kinds of trust monies held for kids.


VII  Special Immigration Juvenile Status

Objective:  Promote undocumented children’s transition to legal resident status; contact & track child’s whereabouts; INS is now USCIS.

  1. Refer all such issues to the Legal Aid Society

  2. Educate folks to be able to identify these issues.