Welcome to Oregon's Foster Care Review Board!
|
Our Vision. . .
Citizens will shape public policy
and
actively promote conditions
to ensure that
- every child lives in a safe,
secure, healthy and permanent home, preserving families whenever
possible,
and
- youth offenders become successful and productive
members of society.
|
"Citizen participation in the legal system is not novel. The
citizen jury is the foundation of the adult justice system. Some
of the most important and critical legal decisions are entrusted to
these panels of citizens. What more important and critical legal decisions
can the justice system make than those that affect the lives of our
most vulnerable children. The citizen voice in this process is critical."
— Nancy Miller, Former Director
Court Programs & Services Division
In 1985, Oregon's legislature created a statewide foster-care review
program of citizen volunteers to help state courts ensure that case plans
and services meet the needs of children in foster care and youth offenders
in the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority. These citizen volunteers
and the staff who support them are the Citizen Review Board, known
as the CRB.
The legislature purposefully placed the CRB in the state judicial branch
under the direction of the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court,
independent of the state's foster-care programs. The CRB checks and balances
child-welfare and juvenile-justice agencies in Oregon's executive branch
that serve Oregon's children, youth, and families.
Oregon law requires the CRB to
- review the case plans of children and youth offenders in substitute
care to ensure that their placements and services are appropriate and
timely,
and
- advocate for effective policies, procedures, and laws in the child
welfare and juvenile justice systems.
In reviewing plans and services for children and youth, local boards
seek to ensure that
- each abused or neglected child has a safe and nurturing permanent
home as quickly as possible and that everyone in the case gets the services
they need,
and
- delinquent youth are accountable and the public protected from their
harmful acts.
In reviews of cases involving an abused or neglected child, local boards
invite parents, foster parents, attorneys, caseworkers, court-appointed
special advocates (CASAs), other interested parties, and the child, if
appropriate, to attend the CRB review and discuss plans for the child.
The board then makes findings and recommendations to the Juvenile Court
and the Department of Human Services (DHS).
Local boards also review information about youth offenders in substitute
care in the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority. These reviews focus
on public safety, youth offender accountability, and reformation.
In addition to the board reviews, the CRB makes recommendations to juvenile
courts, Department of Human Services, Oregon Youth Authority, and the
legislature concerning services, policies, procedures, and laws that affect
children, youth, and families.
See Our Reviews for more
information on the review process and the underlying state policy.
Our Members
For local boards, the CRB recruits citizens with interest in or special
knowledge of foster care and child welfare to serve on panels of 3 to
7 members who represent the diverse socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, and
cultural populations in their county.
Oregon's Chief Justice appoints local board members from a list provided
by the presiding judge of their local circuit court. About 400 citizen
volunteers on 85 local boards
now serve statewide, in all but the three least populous counties.
Local board members receive 16 hours of orientation and 8 hours of continuing
education each year after that. Members must meet several other
requirements, as well. See I Want to Help
for more information on qualifications, the job description, and how to
apply to become a member.
For more information on CRB and SAC activities, see CRB
News.
To contact CRB staff or the local boards, see CRB
Staff & Local Boards.