Proposed Outcome Measures to Drive Foster Care Reform
May 6, 1999

The driving, all-important criteria for decision making in the Foster Care System in Los Angeles County should be "what is best for the children that it serves." These children are already the victims of abuse and neglect and they deserve the best that we can give them. In order to achieve this goal, we must better understand and measure our performance.

1. KIDS SHOULD BE SAFE WHILE IN CARE.
Create a ratio of serious substantiated incidents of foster parent neglect/abuse per total days of care. Also, create a ratio of the number of foster families who have had repeated episodes of serious abuse per total number of active foster families.

2. KIDS SHOULD HAVE NURTURING CARE BY THEIR FOSTER PARENTS.
Identify the extent of cognitive growth that occurred for those foster children who have been in care for at least one-year using standardized tests that measure nonverbal and verbal IQ. (The foster parent is the most significant therapeutic factor in the child's life. Serious thought should be given to limiting to no more than two unrelated children per foster home, especially since there is currently a surplus of foster homes in Los Angeles. The percentage of foster families that have no more than two unrelated foster children should be used to measure this standard.)

3. KIDS SHOULD HAVE THEIR OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT DECISION, BEHAVIORAL/EMOTIONAL, HEALTH, AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
ASSESSED AND ADDRESSED
by formal systems, i.e., DCFS, Mental Health, Health Services, and Schools. Measure the percentage of children who are evaluated by DCFS to determine appropriate out-of-home placement and services plan. Measure educational progress using standardized tests on reading and math for children who have been in foster care for at least one-year. Have a check list that identifies that special health needs were addressed while in care. Measure behavioral change using specific scales of the Child Behavioral Check List.

4. KIDS SHOULD HAVE A STABLE FOSTER HOME.
Determine the percentage of all foster children who remained with the same foster family (not including the first 30-day assessment period) until they exited foster care.

5. KIDS SHOULD NOT BE RETURNED TO UNSAFE HOMES.
Utilize a recidivism rate. Determine the percentage of kids who went home or to relatives and returned to DCFS caseload in Los Angeles within two-years following their exit from foster care.

6. KIDS SHOULD HAVE PERMANENCY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME FRAME.
Identify the percentage of foster children who have not returned home or to relatives or to adoption or guardianship after 18-months of care.