Casey's Focus

Children in Care

In New Orleans and the immediate vicinity, about 240 young people in the care of the juvenile justice system were directly affected by the two hurricanes. Thousands more children who live in foster care were also affected. When the hurricane hit, these children had to be evacuated, enduring difficult conditions. Compounding this trauma is the fact that many didn’t know where their families were. Courts in affected parishes have not been operating, requiring special action by the State Supreme Court, so it has been a slow process to get children released from detention or confinement. But as of late September, more than 40 youth from detention facilities in New Orleans or Jefferson parish had been reunited with their families, thanks to the joint effort of the Judiciary, the children’s lawyers, and the state.

In Mississippi and Alabama, at this point children in the state’s care have been largely accounted for and arrangements have been made for foster homes for those whose foster families were displaced because of the hurricanes. But Casey staff members and grantees have been involved in assessing short- and long-term needs and helping to link affected families with job opportunities and child care.

One of the challenges facing Alabama was an influx of displaced foster families from Louisiana and Mississippi, and hurricane-related issues have put a severe strain on the child welfare system in the Mississippi Gulf Coast in particular, where some caseloads had reached 100 cases per worker.

To date, the most pressing needs in Louisiana are to recruit more foster parents and to reunify families, especially for young people in residential facilities and group homes that have become overcrowded.

Many foster homes and facilities in the affected area have been destroyed or become uninhabitable. Because the evacuation happened so swiftly, state officials have had trouble locating some children. Some foster parents may have to stop caring for children in their care so they can get their own lives in order. And birth parents of children in both systems who might have been able to resume custody have been hard to locate – and under tremendous strain.

Although state leaders of Louisiana’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems are working hard to respond, they need immediate and sustained help. Soon after the disaster, Foundation staff members contacted child welfare and juvenile justice leaders in the region – many of whom Casey has worked with in helping to provide assistance on system reform – to determine how the Foundation can best play a significant role. The Foundation has sent two senior consultants to the region to help area officials identify strategic priorities and seek financial claims from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Prior to the hurricanes, the Casey Strategic Consulting Group was working with Louisiana’s Office of Youth Development to help facilitate reforms in the state’s juvenile justice system. The Consulting Group, or CSCG, is a team of Foundation staff that combines private sector management consulting strategies with the Foundation’s system reform expertise to help spur lasting improvements in the provision of services to children and families. The group seeks to improve outcomes for children and families by transforming the management and accountability structure, operations, and frontline practice of public agencies, often when they are facing a crisis point such as highly publicized child deaths or a court order.

Despite the hurricane-related devastation, state officials have reaffirmed their commitment to continue with the juvenile justice reform effort. The disaster temporarily disrupted the state’s efforts, supported by Casey, to pilot a therapeutic approach, which draws on a successful model developed in Missouri for working with young people in the juvenile justice system, for youth in secure care in Louisiana. "In spite of what the state has been through, Louisiana officials have restated their commitment to move ahead with this important work, and we will do everything we can to facilitate that," says Kathleen Feely, managing director of the Casey Strategic Consulting Group.

Just before the hurricane struck, the young people at Bridge City, a secure facility outside of New Orleans for juveniles, were evacuated to other locations, including the Jetson Juvenile Facility outside Baton Rouge. Bridge City weathered the storm, with no flood damage and relatively little structural damage, but shortages of water, electricity, food, and gas in New Orleans mean the facility’s residents will remain housed elsewhere indefinitely. Jetson also took in more than 100 young people relocated from detention centers in hurricane-affected areas – some suffering from dehydration, sunburn, and lack of sleep. Then Hurricane Rita hit two facilities in the Lake Charles area, forcing another evacuation. As a result of both hurricanes, many young people are worried about their families and need considerable services and support.