Improving the Lives of Children in Long-Term Foster Care: The Role of Texas’ Courts & Legal System

1. Improving the Lives of Children in Long-Term Foster Care:The Role of Texas’ Courts & Legal System

2. Texas Appleseed Charge To examine how long-term life outcomes for PMC children growing up in foster care can be improved. • Judicial system, no previous review • Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) • Must prevent children from aging out with no support system

3. Data Sources • Qualitative • 15 jurisdictions, covering 65% of foster children in PMC • Nearly 150 interviews • Quantitative • DFPS data from 2005-2008

4. Children who Age Out Experience • Low education levels • Poverty • Unemployment • Homelessness • High incidence of health care issues • Increased justice system involvement • High rates of early pregnancy • High rates of post-traumatic stress disorder

5. Challenges Facing Former Foster Care Children • Without a high school diploma or GED: 24.4% • Completed higher education: 5.7% • Employed: 48% • Household incomes below the poverty line: 33.2% • One or more mental health disorders: 54% • Without health insurance: 33% • Ever arrested: 57.2%, since age 18: 38.7% • Homeless at some point in adult life: 22.2% • Rate of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome: twice the rate of U.S. combat veterans According to the ChapinHall study (Mark E. Courtney et al, Midwest Evaluation of Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 23 and 24, ChapinHall at the University of Chicago (2010)

6. The Path to Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) • Once a child is removed from the home DFPS is appointed temporary managing conservator (TMC) by the court • DFPS provides “placement” while services are provided to the family • Within 12-18 months court must dismiss suit or declare DFPS permanent managing conservator (PMC) • PMC can be with or without termination of parental rights (TPR)

7. Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) • DFPS becomes child’s permanent legal guardian • Permanency Plan • Placement Review Hearings

8. Children and Youth Entering and Exiting PMC

9. Percentage of Children Entering PMC in FY 2008, by Age

10. Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Age at End of Year

11. Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Length of Time to Exit

12. Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Outcome

13. Length of Time to Exit Care by Exit Type for Children Who Exited in FY 2008

14. Finding A Permanent Home

15. Percentage of Children Exiting PMC Through Adoption in FY 2008 by Age at Adoption

16. Average Number of Placements for Children in FY 2008, Based on Length of Time to Exit

17. Average Number of Placements for Children in FY 2008, Based on Exit Type

18. Average Number of Placements for Children in FY 2008 By Exit Type and Jurisdiction

19. Race/Ethnicity and Disproportionality

20. Ethnicity of Children in PMC in FY 2008, Compared to Ethnicity of Texas' Total Child Population

21. Percentage of Children Entering and Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Ethnicity

22. Percentage of Children Exiting Foster Care in FY 2008, by Race and Exit Type

23. Physical and Mental Disabilities

24. Percentage of Children Identified as Having a Physical or Psychological Problem in FY 2008, by Age

25. The jurisdictional data demonstrates that there is great diversity in outcomes for children in different jurisdictions. These variations are attributable to a wide range of variables including availability of resources, utilization of available resources, judicial philosophy, judicial experience, judicial leadership, demographics and regional values. Jurisdictional Data

26. Number of Children in PMC in FY 2008, by Texas Court Jurisdiction

27. Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Jurisdiction and Exit Type

28. Major Findings

29. Positive Forces • Texas Family Code tracks best practices • Concerned, Active, and Informed Leadership • Courts • DFPS • CASA • Strong interdisciplinary Teams • Under constant improvement

30. Most Jurisdictions: • Believed they were doing a good job, or a very good job • Stakeholders had respect for each other • Are concerned and care about the children • But – the outcomes for their children is poor

31. Poor Outcomes from: • A lack of urgency to find permanent homes for these children • A lack of accountability and preparedness for these children’s well-being • A lack of clear roles for the legal participants • A sense that the children themselves do not need to be heard or that their presence in the courtroom would be harmful to them • A void in the courtroom of individuals who really know the child • A lack of communication among stake holders

32. Recommendations 1 Pilot 18 Recommendations

33. Benchmark Permanency Hearing Pilot • Background • 70% of children who enter PMC leave foster care within 2 years • Majority who remain leave at 18 with no permanent home or support network • Goals/Objectives • Ensure focus on permanency • Use timelines and review criteria to encourage on accountability • More closely ensure permanency plan is realistic and achievable • Clarify stakeholder roles in PMC stage • Change lax perceptions of the process

34. Benchmark Permanency Hearing Pilot • Scheduling Order Hearing – 45 days • Permanency Implementation Hearing – 90 days • Permanency Progress Hearing (currently entitled Placement Review Hearings)– as often as necessary, but no longer than every four (4) months • Benchmark Review Hearing – 2 years • Permanency Progress Hearings every four (4) months, every third Permanency Progress Hearing replaced by Benchmark Review Hearing

35. Judges must recognize their critical role in the PMC process • Court duties: • Protect child’s best interest • Require adherence to the law • Hold individual stakeholders accountable “Proactive, Well-Informed Overseer”

36. Children and youth must be in court • Importance to Judge • Facilitate collaboration • Encourages accountability • Valuable information directly from child • Importance for Child • Express her opinion • Feels valued • Gives sense of some control • Makes the process “real” • Realize people are looking at her future

37. Placement Review Hearings should take place as often as necessary, but at a minimum should occur every four (4) months. Casey Family Programs finds promising practice to be every 3 months. • Six months “forever” in the life of a child • Stakeholders wait until last minute to act • Helps avoid losses in progress due to turnover

38. In every PMC case there should be an advocate for the youth.  The advocate can be a CASA volunteer who is appointed as the Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) or as a friend of the court or another GAL Guardian ad Litem = ensure the child’s best interests are served

39. Attorneys ad litem must be appointed or retained when adversarial legal issues arise and there is a conflict amongst stakeholders • Conflicts can arise between: • AAL (child’s wants) • GAL (child’s needs) • DFPS (parent) Attorneys must be prepared to hold the judges accountable by appealing decisions when necessary

40. Every child should have a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and CASA must be allowed to present before the court • Currently serve in most TMC cases • In the past, removed from PMC cases due to lack of resources • Seeking to ensure volunteers stay on case once child reaches PMC A child had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and could not walk, CASA discovered the child did not have cerebral palsy and now the child can walk. A child had a brother in CPS care, but CPS could not locate the brother. CASA located the brother and now the siblings are reunited.

41. Notice of placement review hearings must be provided in accordance Texas Family Code • Entitled to notice: • DFPS • Foster parents • Pre-adoptive parents • Relatives of the child providing care • Director of group home/institution where child resides • Each possessory conservator/guardian • AAL • GAL • Volunteer advocate • Any other person or agency named by court as having an interest in the child

42. Docket schedules must be composed efficiently so that children and stakeholders can attend “Easy” cases earlier in the day allowing 20 minutes “Complex” cases in the afternoon allowing 30-60 minutes Easy adoptions first thing in the morning Ensure all have two hour window where case will be heard

43. Judicial training is essential • The Supreme Court of Texas’ Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth, and Families is developing a bench book that should be available at the end of the year • Video instruction on how complete hearings should look • Implicit bias and undoing racism education • How to speak to children • Trauma-based care • Transition planning Benchbooks or Bench Cards should be studied and utilized

44. Quantitative data should be used to help judges gauge their improvement in getting children in permanent and safe homes as quickly as possible Child Protection Case Management System (CPCMS) is provided for free through the Office of Court Administration. It incorporates 19 of the 31 performance measures developed by the Department of Justice, National Center for State Courts and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. However, most courts cannot afford the technical support for maintenance.

45. Conclusion • Tx has all the elements needed for true change • Committed stakeholders • Strong Statute • Judicial leadership • Willing partners • Time to make the changes: • Change perceptions of children in PMC • Change perceptions of court procedures • Implement recommendations