Foster system faults: county combats high entry rates and race disproportions

PHOTO: Senior Natalie Ries recently adopted four of five foster siblings, who are also her nieces and nephews. (Courtesy: Natalie Ries).

Rising numbers and racial disparities riddle the Yolo County foster care system. In response, the Yolo County Child Welfare Services Subcommittee is initiating a County Self-Assessment (CSA) and developing a System Improvement Plan (SIP).

The CSA is a five-year plan, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Yolo County child welfare. On Sept. 29, the county Board of Supervisors approved the proposal. 

The SIP is the CSA’s less finalized counterpart. In a meeting on Sept. 23, the Child Welfare Services Subcommittee laid out three main strategies presented by the plan: “pre-placement and family preservation [, …] placement stability, [and] resource family approval and timely permanency.”

Generally, the plan encourages “upstream prevention and early intervention services” to keep families together. Each aspect of the plan also addresses racial disproportionality.

With the added challenge of distance learning, Yolo County employees, foster youth advocates and resource families are working hard to ensure the smoothest transition for foster youth. 

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