Washington’s foster children focus of legislative package
March 10, 2009
On any given day, there are 11,000 children in foster care in Washington
State. Many of these children have parents who are working hard to reunite
with them, while thousands are awaiting adoption and thousands more are in
foster care awaiting a permanent home.
With these numbers in mind,
the Washington State House of Representatives has passed a group of bills
intended to protect and nurture our state’s most vulnerable residents – its
foster children.
Headlining the package of legislation is
House Bill
2106, which launches a new strategy for using performance-based contracts to
deliver child-welfare services. Experience in other states has proven that
performance-based contracting can help keep children safely out of foster
care and hasten reunification with their families when they are removed from
home.
A Washington State Institute of Public Policy study found
that, after five years, the state would receive a long-term net benefit of
between $317 and $493 million in reduced foster care caseloads if evidence
based practices were implemented.
“Washington State has been a
leader in creating evidence-based policies that produce good outcomes,
efficiently,” said
Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-Lake Forest Park), the bill’s sponsor.
“This reform creates a contracting system that can make the best use of
proven practices and make sure the savings are reinvested into the
well-being of children.”
Also making it through the House with
bipartisan support was
House Bill 1961, which would enable some kids between
the ages of 18-21 to continue to remain in foster care instead of being
considered independent adults.
The bill, sponsored by
Mary Helen
Roberts (D-Lynnwood), would extend the state’s existing pilot program
allowing some youth who are enrolled in a higher ed program to remain in
foster care until the age of 21. It would also set the state up to receive
federal money to expand the program beginning in 2010.
“Foster youth
deserve the opportunity to transition into adulthood just like their friends
from intact families,” Roberts said. “A foster care to age 21 program
provides that opportunity, and gives these young people a much better chance
of becoming contributing members of our communities.”
Legislation
that also passed through the House on Monday included:
- Rep. Roberts’ HB 1938 encourages continued post-adoption contact among siblings who are not adopted together out of foster care.
- Rep. Eric Pettigrew’s HB 2164 continues past legislative efforts to find solutions to racial disproportionality in Washington’s child welfare system. A recent study showed that African American, Native American and Hispanic children are more likely to be referred to Child Protective Services than white children.
- Rep. Tina Orwall’s HB 1769, which passed the House on Friday, helps reunite families who have had children in the state’s foster care program by offering referrals to appropriate agencies or organizations and assistance with forms that will aid these families in attaining adequate, safe housing.