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Committee backs creation of permanent foster-care oversight subcommittee
Summary
The committee recommended passage of House Bill 478 to establish a permanent foster-care oversight subcommittee within the Oversight Commission on Children's Services after hearing testimony about foster-parent isolation and service gaps.
The Children and Family Law Committee unanimously recommended passage of House Bill 478, which would create a permanent foster-care oversight subcommittee within the Oversight Commission on Children's Services.
Representative Peter Petrino, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the measure stems from a summer study committee that heard testimony from DCYF, the Office of the Child Advocate, children's-law groups, Waypoint, and foster parents. "We heard testimony ... and they reported feelings of isolation, loneliness, children's needs not being met, lack of support and dysfunction with the agency," Petrino said, and described the subcommittee as a way to sustain that review and provide continuous oversight.
Representatives and public witnesses who have experience as foster or adoptive parents said the state needs better support, clearer communication, and an ongoing forum to identify and resolve recurring foster-care problems. Cassandra Sanchez of the Office of the Child Advocate said her office supported the bill and noted the subcommittee would complement work already underway in DCYF on caregiver recruitment, retention, and caregiver coordination. "We are here in strong support of this bill," she said.
Foster-care advocates who testified described problems including inconsistent supports for foster parents, shortages of homes for teenagers, and post-placement needs that caseworkers and foster families said were not being met. Several witnesses said an ongoing oversight group could help the agency coordinate services and capture the perspective of foster and kinship caregivers.
Action: At executive session the committee voted 3-0 to recommend HB 478 ought to pass. The committee also moved the measure with consent during executive action.
Supporters said the oversight subcommittee would not supplant DCYF's operational work but would provide independent, ongoing review, recommendations and continuity through an established commission. Several witnesses offered to serve if a statutory subcommittee is created.
The committee's recommendation advances the bill to the next stage of consideration.
