Olympia -- Foster children are benefitting from a concerted effort by the Department of Social and Health Services Children's Administration to visit children in state care regularly. A study released today by the Braam Oversight Panel found a significant increase from prior years of foster parents reporting that case workers visited foster children monthly in the last half of 2008.

"The survey shows that we are visiting more foster children monthly, which reassures children while we are checking on their welfare – everyone benefits from these visits," said Randy Hart, Children's Administration interim assistant secretary. "I am quite pleased, as this is a direct result of staff efforts." A policy requiring monthly visits of foster children by social workers was implemented September 2008.

Many caregivers continue to report a strong and positive working relationship with state case workers. The survey results indicate a high level of compliance in six out of nine Braam performance measures covered by the survey, meeting or surpassing the benchmark in two outcome measures and improving from previous years in five measures. The survey can be found on the Children's Administration Web site at: www.dshs.wa.gov/ca/general/index.asp

The independent, anonymous telephone survey of more than 1,200 active foster parents and relative caregivers was conducted statewide between July and August 2009. The survey assists the Braam Oversight Panel in measuring progress and compliance of DSHS improving foster care; and it provides unbiased input to Children's Administration from caregivers. The Braam Oversight Panel was created in 2004 to oversee a settlement agreement regarding Washington state’s foster care system.

The Foster Parents/Relative Caregivers Benchmark Survey, in its third year as one of the most comprehensive surveys of foster parents nationally, was developed and conducted by Washington State University’s Social and Economic Sciences Research Center.

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DSHS does not discriminate and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, age, veteran's status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.