This article is from Cal-Tax Digest, published
by the California Taxpayers' Association.
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The tragedies unfold child by child, but the trauma is universal. Too often, under the scourge of drug and alcohol abuse, parental love and patience lose out to abuse and severe neglect. The government intervenes, and nearly 100 times a day somewhere in California a child is placed into foster care.

More than 105,000 children in California are in foster homes, and the Little Hoover Commission projects the number of children in the State's care could swell to more than 167,000 over the next five years.

During its year-long review, the commission found that an increasing percentage of children are in foster care for longer periods of time. Too often these children are cycled between troubled families and a variety of foster homes. The commission concluded that the state is failing to adequately protect and care for these children. This failure is costly to the children and families involved, and has growing fiscal consequences for California.

To break this expensive cycle, the commission concluded that the state and the counties need to provide the highest quality of care through better management of state programs and strong leadership by state and local elected officials.

The commission's recommendations for improving the system are contained in a report - "Now in Our Hands: Caring for California's Abused and Neglected Children" - which was recently sent to the governor and the Legislature for consideration.

The problems these families face are complex. Thousands of Californians have dedicated themselves to these problems, from policymakers who have worked tirelessly to foster parents who have loved generously. But the evidence indicates that the fate of abused children is not improving.

Each year more than 700,000 cases of suspected child abuse are reported to California authorities. Some 36,000 of those children are found to be in so much danger that they are placed in the state's care. More than $3 billion - federal, state and local funds - are spent on programs within the Department of Social Services for abused and neglected children. As the caseload grows, so do the bills. The state budget for these programs alone has increased by $1 billion over the last four years. Billions of additional dollars are spent for health care, mental health, special education, drug and alcohol abuse treatment and court costs.

Despite these expenditures and benevolent intentions, the government has proven to be a poor surrogate parent - seemingly incapable of ensuring that these children receive the quality education, medical care and other attention that all children need. In the end, troubled children often end up as troubled adults. Their personal anguish becomes a public calamity.

When the Little Hoover Commission started its review, it initially focused on foster care, the public program to temporarily parent children rescued from abuse. But the traditional prescription is not the cure. Foster care is not stopping the abuse or healing the trauma. As a result, the commission stepped back and took a broader look. The purpose of the public policy is to reduce the abuse of children, to protect and care for those children who are abused, and to provide abused children a nurturing and permanent home that is either with their natural family or a new one.

Richard R. Terzian has served on the Little Hoover Commission since 1986 and has served as chairman since 1994. He is a partner in the law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in Los Angeles. The commission's formal title is the Milton Marks Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy. "Now in Our Hands" can be found on the Commission's website: www.lhc.ca.gov. Printed copies can be requested from the Commission's office at (916) 445-2125.

 The commission found that targeted prevention efforts can reduce abuse and the need for costly foster care programs. And integrated programs that serve children who are in foster care can heal trauma and mend families. Conversely, poor quality programs perpetuate the need for foster care and reduce the chances those children will lead successful lives after they leave the system.

The commission recommended a child-centered approach from prevention to aftercare. First, the state's top elected officials need to make a full commitment to give the highest quality of care to abused and neglected children. Secondly, new administrative leadership and attitude are needed to prevent abuse, improve care for children in short-term foster care, and promote long-term successful outcomes for children. Finally, to resolve implementation issues and ensure progress is made, child welfare efforts need to be continuously reassessed. This evaluation should be based on consistent data and rigorous analysis.

In all aspects of child abuse - prevention, foster care and assistance to children leaving the child welfare system - the state should be driven by outcome-based, cost-effective strategies that recognize the long-term costs of failure on the adult social service and criminal justice systems.

In studies on child care, education, child support enforcement, juvenile justice and health care, the commission has found that successful public policies for children can reduce long-term public expenditures. In turn, personal failures increase public expenditures. One study, for example, followed young men emancipating or "aging out" of the foster care system in Wisconsin. Within 18 months, 25 percent of them were the victims of violent crimes and 27 percent were incarcerated.

We have the opportunity - and the obligation - to make a difference in the lives of these children. We are already making a substantial investment of resources. Now it is time for us to put in place the state management needed to ensure that those resources yield positive results.