Consortium for Children was created specifically
to provide programs, support and technical assistance to both public and private
child welfare agencies. CFC collaborates to provide community focused services
for both stakeholders and
consumers of the child welfare system.
Consortium for Children was
founded in 1999 with the intent to support and collaborate with public child
welfare agencies, families, the court system and other participants in public
child welfare systems. CFC's first project was the design and implementation of
a Permanency Planning Mediation Program for the State of California. CFC has
successfully implemented Permanency Planning Mediation in 48 of the 58
California Counties.
Consortium for Children currently has a full time staff of 12 and over 400
permanency planning mediators throughout California. Over the past five years,
CFC has received over 6,000 permanency planning mediation referrals,
successfully reached agreement in 5,500 of those referrals and helped provide
early permanence for over 18,000 California dependent children.
In 2002, Consortium for Children added the implementation of Structured Analysis
Family Evaluation (SAFE), a uniform home study methodology, to our programs.
Currently over 22 jurisdictions (States and Counties) are in the process of
implementing SAFE for use in evaluating prospective foster, adoptive and kinship
families. In 2004 Consortium for Children was awarded a Federal Adoption
Opportunity Grant to implement the use of SAFE use in 10 States plus the
Cherokee Nation.
In 2004 in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family
Services and the State of California Department of Social Services CFC began the
Permanency Partner Program (also known as (P-3). The P-3 Program uses mediation
to provide legal permanence for youth ages 12 - 18 with a case plan of Long Term
Foster Care or Alternative Planned Living Arrangement.
Consortium for Children also provides extensive training to Public Child Welfare
Agencies in Permanence, Mediation and Family Evaluations.