February 2007Vol. 8, No. 1Fostering Court Improvement
The nonprofit organization Fostering Court Improvement (FCI) is a collaborative effort among Fostering Results, the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law's National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues, and the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic. The organization plans to help States use existing data sources, currently available in every State, as a platform for discussions about data related to juvenile courts, their performance, and their contribution to the overall health report of child welfare in each State.
FCI has chosen initially to focus on AFCARS (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System) data housed and maintained by the Child and Family Services Agency of each State. Analysis of these data will show the courts' role in such outcomes as removal rates, repeat abuse rates, and time to permanency.