Categories Child Welfare, Congregate care, Foster care, Group Homes/Non-Secure Placement, Health, Legal/policy issues, Mental Health, Placement/Confinement, Relatives/kinship care, Standards/enforcement
This report reflects on the first year since the closure of the Warren E. Thornton (WET) Youth Center in Sacramento and the entry of the court’s Final Judgment in Daniels v. County of Sacramento outlining the County’s commitments to end unlicensed care. We met with the County and reviewed materials and anonymized data to assess their progress through three primary strategies: (1) increasing family finding and engagement; (2) connecting youth to community-based mental health services; and (3) developing home-based settings for emergency placements.
We found that they need improvement with family finding and engagement, as their kinship care numbers have remained low, though they have initiated several promising partnerships to improve placements with kin. We also found that they are making progress with connecting youth to community-based mental health services and developing emergency home-based placements. They have implemented a number of steps to increase access to services and they have leased several residential homes for youth awaiting placement. These efforts have encountered challenges, but are moving in the right direction.
Our report closes with a list of recommended next steps to help the County continue its progress.
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