Speakers stress cooperation at children's justice meeting
Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Kayla Pettit has a stake in reforming the state's foster care system.
As one of about 5,000 foster children in Iowa, the 17-year-old from Norwalk knows the difficulties inherent in having a case move from social worker to attorney to judge. Communication is always a problem, and she hopes officials can learn to talk with each other more effectively.
"Sometimes one person knows more about the child and the other has no idea," she said Thursday.
Pettit's experience prompted her to attend a three-day meeting in Des Moines sponsored by the Iowa Supreme Court. The event, billed as a Children's Justice Summit, drew nearly 200 child welfare advocates, attorneys, public defenders and court administrators from each of Iowa's eight districts.
They discussed how the courts could better serve the state's foster children, focusing on the need for different agencies to work together.
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, who first proposed the summit, said it was vital to improve the foster care system.
"It's a problem that progresses generation after generation. It's not going to be easier to solve in 10 years," Ternus said. "We need to do something now."
Ternus said some recent changes already have improved the system, citing a one-judge one-child policy in which the same judge handles a case from beginning to end. But she said statewide reform depends on grassroots efforts at the local level.
Kathleen Hahn, an assistant Black Hawk County attorney who attended the summit, said relations between local and state agencies can "feel it's us against them."
"One thing I'd like to see is everyone feels like they have a stake in the outcome," she said.
Ternus said she hopes workers in each of Iowa's eight district courts can learn from each other. Teams from each district are drafting goals for their areas, such as extra training for mediators, she said.
District judges will oversee application of those goals, and Ternus plans to check with them at her district meetings.
"We're hoping to bring everybody back together in 18 months," she said.
Some wonder how tangible change will be.
Hershel Reed, who works with at-risk and foster youth at the Council Bluffs YMCA, said he wants to leave the conference with concrete ideas for working more effectively with caseworkers and others.
"For me, collaboration means it's not only talking but getting to the frontlines and addressing the problems," Reed said. "I want to see some baby steps real soon."
Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, a member of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, said reforming the foster care system "is a smart investment for the state" if more children end up in stable situations.
As one of about 5,000 foster children in Iowa, the 17-year-old from Norwalk knows the difficulties inherent in having a case move from social worker to attorney to judge. Communication is always a problem, and she hopes officials can learn to talk with each other more effectively.
"Sometimes one person knows more about the child and the other has no idea," she said Thursday.
Pettit's experience prompted her to attend a three-day meeting in Des Moines sponsored by the Iowa Supreme Court. The event, billed as a Children's Justice Summit, drew nearly 200 child welfare advocates, attorneys, public defenders and court administrators from each of Iowa's eight districts.
They discussed how the courts could better serve the state's foster children, focusing on the need for different agencies to work together.
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, who first proposed the summit, said it was vital to improve the foster care system.
"It's a problem that progresses generation after generation. It's not going to be easier to solve in 10 years," Ternus said. "We need to do something now."
Ternus said some recent changes already have improved the system, citing a one-judge one-child policy in which the same judge handles a case from beginning to end. But she said statewide reform depends on grassroots efforts at the local level.
Kathleen Hahn, an assistant Black Hawk County attorney who attended the summit, said relations between local and state agencies can "feel it's us against them."
"One thing I'd like to see is everyone feels like they have a stake in the outcome," she said.
Ternus said she hopes workers in each of Iowa's eight district courts can learn from each other. Teams from each district are drafting goals for their areas, such as extra training for mediators, she said.
District judges will oversee application of those goals, and Ternus plans to check with them at her district meetings.
"We're hoping to bring everybody back together in 18 months," she said.
Some wonder how tangible change will be.
Hershel Reed, who works with at-risk and foster youth at the Council Bluffs YMCA, said he wants to leave the conference with concrete ideas for working more effectively with caseworkers and others.
"For me, collaboration means it's not only talking but getting to the frontlines and addressing the problems," Reed said. "I want to see some baby steps real soon."
Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, a member of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, said reforming the foster care system "is a smart investment for the state" if more children end up in stable situations.
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