Volume 32

To Friends and Colleagues:

I write to inform you about some changes at the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. After leading the Commission from its inception in 2003, I recently accepted the position of president of Child Trends, one of the nation's premier policy-oriented research centers on children and families.

The Pew Commission was launched in May of 2003 and released its final report and recommendations in May of the following year. From its inception, the Commission was intended as a time-limited entity whose charge was to develop recommendations to reform the foster care system and inform key audiences about them. The Commission has accomplished these goals, and I am proud of its contribution of practical policy solutions to address the problem of children languishing in foster care. The Pew Charitable Trusts and many others remain committed to advancing the Pew Commission's federal financing and court improvement recommendations to help ensure that all children have the safe, permanent families they deserve. I am also delighted that the members of the Pew Commission, as well as Sue Badeau, the Commission's Deputy Director, and Gina Russo, our Communications Consultant, will continue working with the Trusts and its partners to promote the Commission's recommendations. I am grateful to each of them for their time, energy and passion for this important work.

In the last year, we have seen great progress toward implementation of the Commission's recommendations. Specifically, several of our court recommendations have passed Congress; the Children's Bureau at HHS will soon award new Court Improvement Program grants; at least 20 states have established or are establishing their own collaborative commissions on children in foster care; and virtually every state has an action plan in place to improve conditions and outcomes for children in foster care, jointly developed by the state child welfare agency and the state court. We are hopeful that members of Congress will soon take up reform of federal child welfare financing and that our recommendations will help spur and inform their deliberations.

Many thanks to all who have helped and educated the Pew Commission during the last few years. It has been an honor to work with you on such important issues.

Carol Emig
Executive Director
Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care