Volume 2

Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care – First Meeting and New Resources

The Commission's First Meeting

Less than a month after its launch, the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care held its first Commission meeting on May 28 and 29, 2003 in Washington, D.C. Closed to the public, the two-day meeting agenda included discussions of child welfare financing, court oversight of child welfare cases, and a conversation with youth currently in foster care.

At this first meeting, Commission members were briefed on the federal financing of foster care and other child welfare services by Karen Spar of the Congressional Research Services, Jess McDonald, the former Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and David Berns, the current Director of the El Paso County, Colorado Department of Human Services, and the former Director of the Michigan Family Independence Agency.

Commission members were also briefed on the history, role and challenges of juvenile and family courts in the child welfare arena by Judge Ernestine Gray of the New Orleans, Louisiana Juvenile Court and Immediate Past President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), Judge David Grossman of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Judge Richard FitzGerald of Louisville, Kentucky.

The Commission also had an extended conversation with four adolescents currently in foster care. This conversation centered on the personal experiences of the youth in foster care.

New Resources

Background papers prepared by the Commission staff in preparation for the first Commission meeting are now available on the Commission website. Each paper addresses a different aspect of the foster care system, paying special attention to the courts and financing systems. Background papers available on the Commission website include:

• The Federal Legal Framework for Child Welfare by Kasia O'Neill Murray
  
• Child Welfare and the Courts by Sue Badeau
  
• The Child Welfare Financing Structure by Kasia O'Neill Murray