Roundtable Overview and Materials

The Child Welfare Policy Roundtable highlights the major child welfare and foster care issues facing California, visions for systemic reform, and policy opportunities to improve the lives of our state’s most vulnerable children and youth. This monthly meeting features a panel of policymakers, practitioners, advocates and former foster youth and provides an informal opportunity to learn and ask questions about California’s child welfare system. Legislative staff, advocates, stakeholders, and the public are invited to join the conversation. For meeting information or if you are having problems accessing any of the below materials, please contact Sara Fung at [email protected].

January 2025: The Legislature’s Responsibility for Children and Youth in Foster Care

The Legislature’s Responsibility for Children and Youth in Foster Care
Vanessa Spagnoli, CA Director, Public Policy, [email protected]
Casey Family Programs, casey.org

Responsibility for Family Support and Engagement
Janay Eustace, President & CEO, [email protected]
The Child Abuse Prevention Center, thecapcenter.org

Responsibility to Provide Homes Where Youth Thrive
Jennifer Rodriguez, Executive Director, [email protected]
Youth Law Center, ylc.org

Responsibility to Ensure Foster Youth Rights are Respected
Ann Quirk, Policy Attorney, [email protected]
Children’s Law Center of California, clccal.org

Responsibility to Provide Trauma-Informed Health and Healing
Michelle Francois, Senior Director, Compassionate Education Systems, [email protected]
National Center for Youth Law, youthlaw.org

Responsibility to Support a Successful Transition to Adulthood
Serita Cox, Co-Founder and CEO, [email protected]
iFoster, ifoster.org

Why This Responsibility Matters
DaeJah Seward, Title IV-E MSW/PPSC Student and Former Foster Youth, [email protected]

Past Meeting Materials

California Mandatory Reporting Data Overview
Daniel Webster, Principal Investigator, [email protected]
California Child Welfare Indicators Project, ccwip.berkeley.edu

What Parents Say about Mandated Reporting
Roger De Leon, [email protected]

Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting Task Force Report and Recommendations
David Swanson Hollinger, Consultant, [email protected]
Integrated Human Services Group, integratedhumanservicesgroup.com

Luciana Svidler, Director of Policy and Training, [email protected]
Children’s Law Center of California, clccal.org

Shifting from Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting: A Community-Based Organization’s Perspective
Jenny Pearlman, Chief Policy Officer, [email protected]
Safe & Sound, safeandsound.org

Shifting to Community Supporting: A National and Statewide Effort
Vanessa Spagnoli, Director of State Public Policy, [email protected]
Casey Family Programs, casey.org

2024 Meeting Materials

2023 Meeting Materials

2022 Meeting Materials

2021 Meeting Materials

2020 Meeting Materials

2019 Meeting Materials

About Children Now

Children Now is a nonpartisan, multi-issue research, policy development and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting children’s health and education in California. The organization also leads The Children’s Movement of California, a network of more than 3,000 direct service, parent, civil rights, faith-based and community groups dedicated to improving children’s well-being. Learn more about us at www.childrennow.org.