Improving the Lives of Children in Long-Term Foster Care

164 Pages·2010·4.44 MB·English

Improving the Lives of Children
in Long-Term Foster Care:
The Role of Texas’ Courts & Legal System
Improving the Lives of Children in
Long-Term Foster Care:
The Role of Texas’ Courts & Legal System
TEXAS APPLESEED
Submitted to the Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission
for Children, Youth and Families
November 2010
Report Team
Rebecca Lightsey, Executive Director
Gabriella McDonald, Dewey & LeBoeuf Community Service Fellow
Marcy Hogan Greer, Lead Pro Bono Attorney, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
Janis Monger, Communications Director
Special thanks are due our lead pro bono partner, fulbright & jaworski l.l.p., as
well as mcginnis, lochridge & kilgore, l.l.p.; research & planning consultants,
lp for providing expertise in data analysis; and casey family programs, a nationally
recognized leader in child welfare issues, for developing a Promising Court Practices guide
included in this report.
Texas Appleseed Mission
Texas Appleseed’s mission is to promote justice for all Texans by using the volunteer skills
of lawyers and other professionals to fnd practical solutions to broad-based problems
facing the most vulnerable — including the State’s foster children.
First Edition ©2010, Texas Appleseed. All rights are reserved, except as follows: Free copies of
this report may be made for personal use. Reproduction of more than fve (5) copies for personal
use and reproduction for commercial use are prohibited without the written permission of the
copyright owner. Te work may be accessed for reproduction pursuant to these restrictions at
www.texasappleseed.net.
Acknowledgments
Texas Appleseed is grateful to the Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial
Commission for Children, Youth and Families for commissioning this study and
for its commitment to improving the lives of foster children in the State’s care. We want
to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of our lead pro bono partner Marcy
Hogan Greer and extend special thanks to Appleseed Board Member David Sharp for
his many hours of commitment to this project; Jennifer Patterson, who led the pro
bono team from McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, L.L.P.; and Adam Reeves with
Research & Planning Consultants, LP. Tis report would not have been possible
without the generous support of The RGK Foundation, the Rees-Jones Foundation,
The Meadows Foundation, and the Texas Bar Foundation and general support
from the Harold Simmons Foundation and the Rockwell Fund. We would also
like to thank the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for their
cooperation and support of this research efort.
Policy Development Team
Texas Appleseed is particularly indebted to its Policy Development Team of leading
experts in Texas foster care, who shared their insights and extensive expertise and who
spent countless hours reviewing our fndings and vetting the policy recommendations
contained in this report.
Sarah Abrahams Richard Lavallo
Project Specialist Legal Director
Casey Family Programs Advocacy, Inc.
Tina Amberboy Tiffany Roper
Executive Director Assistant Director
Children’s Commission Children’s Commission
Jane Burstain Carolyn Rodriguez
Senior Policy Analyst Director of Texas Strategic Consulting
Center for Public Policy Priorities Casey Family Programs
Honorable Darlene Byrne Honorable Robin Sage
Judge, 126th District Court Family Law Judge, 307th District Court
Travis County Gregg County
Audrey Deckinga Andrea Sparks
Assistant Commissioner Director of Policy & Outreach
Child Protective Services CASA Texas
Honorable Camille Dubose David Sharp
Judge, 38th District Court Texas Appleseed Board Member
Uvalde County Gunderson, Sharpe & Walke, L.L.P.
Katy Gallagher-Parker Honorable John Specia
Staf Attorney for Judge Retired Judge
Byrne, 126th District Court 225th District Court
Travis County Bexar County
Marcy Greer Angela Woodbury
Lead Pro Bono Attorney Temple-Inland
Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P.
Honorable John Hathaway
Juvenile/Associate Judge
Travis County
Improving the Lives of Children in Long-Term Foster Care:
The Role of Texas’ Courts & Legal System
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
A SNAPSHOT IN TIME: Foster Care in Texas 3
EXECUTIvE SUMMARY 5
Te Impact on Children
What the State Can Do
Major Findings 8
Strengths of the System 10
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 11
METHODOLOGY 27
AN OvERvIEW OF TEX AS’ FOSTER CARE SYSTEM 31
When the Courts Become Involved
Types of Courts Hearing Foster Care Cases
Temporary Managing Conservatorship
Reunifcation/Family Placement
Termination of Parental Rights
Te Role of the Courts & Legal System in
Permanent Managing Conservatorship
Duties & Responsibilities of the Court in PMC Cases
WHAT WE LEARNED 45
Foster Children and Education
Youth “Aging Out” of Foster Care
Court Practices in Texas: How the PMC Process is Working
variations in Outcomes: Foster Children in 15 Study Jurisdictions
FINDING A BETTER WAY 73
Guidance to Judges: Te Need for Strong Oversight in PMC Cases
Te Necessity of Foster Children Attending Court
Barriers to Children’s Participation in Court
Children in Court: Judicial Opinion & Actual Practice in Texas
Improving Child Representation in Foster Care Proceedings
Judicial Management of PMC Dockets
Judicial Education
Critical Administrative Issues Afecting Foster Children
CONCLUSION 105
APPENDIX 107
Promising Court Practices: Strategies to Achieving Timely Permanency
(Casey Family Programs)
Types of Foster Care Placements and Initiatives to Find Permanent Homes
Special Legal Resources for Youth in PMC
CHARTS
page
3 A Snapshot in Time: Foster Care in Texas
29 Texas Appleseed 15 Study Jurisdictions and 11 DFPS Regions (A Map)
38 Percentage of Children in PMC During FY 2008 with Parental Rights Terminated, by Age of Entry
38 Termination of Parental Rights Status of Children Entering PMC in FY 2008, by Study Jurisdiction
53 A Snapshot: Challenges Facing Former Foster Youth
54 Percentage of Children Entering PMC in FY 2008, by Age
55 Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Age at End of Year
55 Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Length of Time to Exit
56 Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Outcome
56 Overall Length of Time in PMC for Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Outcome
57 Percentage of Children Exiting PMC Through Adoption in FY 2008, by Age at Adoption
57 Percentage of Children Aging Out of PMC in FY 2008, by Age of Entry in PMC
58 Average Number of Placements for Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Length of Time in PMC
59 Average Number of Foster Care Placements for Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Exit Type
60 Average Number of Caseworkers for Children Exiting PMC in 2008, Based on Length of Time in PMC
60 Ethnicity of Children in PMC in FY 2008, Compared to Ethnicity of Texas’ Total Child Population
61 Percentage of Children Entering and Exiting PMC in FY 2008, by Ethnicity
62 Percentage of Children Exiting Foster Care in FY 2008, by Ethnicity and Exit Type
62 Percentage of Children in PMC Identifed as Having a Physical or Psychological Problem in FY 2008, by Age
63 Signifcant Mental Impairments of Children in PMC in FY 2008, by Type
68 Number of Children in PMC in FY 2008, by Study Jurisdiction
69 Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008 in Less Than One Year, by Study Jurisdiction
69 Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008 after More Than Three Years in PMC, by Study Jurisdiction
70 Percentage of Children Exiting PMC in FY 2008 through Adoption, by Study Jurisdiction
70 Percentage of Children Aging Out of PMC in FY 2008, by Study Jurisdiction
71 Average Number of Placements for Children in FY 2008, by Exit Type and Study Jurisdiction
INTRODUCTION
1
No child enters or leaves foster care without a court order. A judge decides where
the child will live, with whom, and for how long. Every day, Texas courts decide
whether a child goes home or to a relative, visits a sibling, or becomes legally free for
adoption.1
Tis report summarizes the fndings and recommendations of Texas Appleseed as to Tex-
as children in long-term foster care, or Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) of
the State. With the support of the Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commis-
sion for Children, Youth and Families (Commission), Texas Appleseed researched and
analyzed how long-term life outcomes for children growing up in foster care in Texas can
be improved by the courts and legal system.
Te Commission deliberately requested that the study focus on the role of the judicial
and legal system. Te safety, health and well-being of the child, the adequacy of the
placement, and the degree of urgency attached to moving these children from foster care
into permanent homes is directly impacted by the judicial system’s role in foster care
cases. Yet, until now, there has been no in-depth examination of how the court and legal
system in Texas is managing these cases — and how improvements in court oversight
can, in turn, improve the lives of these children while in foster care and after they leave
the foster care system.
Regrettably, research shows that children who spend three or more years in long-term
foster care are much more likely to “age out” of the foster care system at 18 unprepared
for independent adult living. Children aging out of long-term foster care face difcult
challenges, including:
• Low educational attainment
• Substance abuse
1 Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families, created
under the leadership of former Justice Harriet O’Neill, available at http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/
children.asp.
• Bouts of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness as adults
• A high incidence of serious, and in some cases disabling, physical and mental health
care issues
• Increased likelihood of justice system involvement
• High rates of early pregnancy
• Manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder induced, not only by parental abuse
and neglect, but also by the upheavals and “losses” associated with the traumas and
frequent moves and transitions experienced in foster care
Introduction Tese children did not come to foster care from ideal childhoods, and most have expe-
rienced severe trauma from abuse, neglect and separation from their families. Instead of
providing these vulnerable children with a fresh start in a safe, “fostering” environment,
2 the foster care system ofers added instability and uncertainty. Te child’s own sense of
“being thrown away,” a history of poor foster care placements, a woefully underfunded
foster care system, inadequate case management (compounded by high caseloads and
turnover within Child Protective Services), frequent moves, and other administrative
and resource shortage issues contribute to the already daunting challenges facing too
many of Texas’ foster children.
Te entire foster care system in Texas is under-resourced, including the judicial system.
While additional resources are necessary for some changes proposed in this report, the
challenge is to require and encourage more attention, substance and meaning to place-
ment review hearings and court processes necessary to advance children to true perma-
nence, which ideally means to move them safely and permanently out of state custody.