foster-care

For years, local foster-care systems received money from California and the federal government based on the number of children served and faced rigid guidelines on how the funds were spent.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011

While the improvement in Alameda was substantial, Ms. Berrick notes that Alameda's foster-care system was in worse shape than those in surrounding communities.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011

"I wasn't a bad kid, I just didn't have anyone to talk to or any support," said Ms. Johnson about challenges she faced in the foster-care system.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011

A risky plan to turn around Alameda County's foster-care system is paying dividends, reducing the number of kids in the program while providing more help to older teens as they make the transition to adulthood.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011

Alameda began improving its foster-care system after it failed regulation compliance audits—California's requirement for running a child welfare system—15 years in a row.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011

On the heels of hiring about 50 social workers and opening a new community center last month, Alameda is preparing a job-placement program for some of its foster-care kids who have become too old for the system.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011

A crack baby who graduated from the foster-care system into low-level drug dealing, she went to jail at 14 for killing another girl in a street fight.

'Wire' actress 'Snoop' arrested, again, on drug charges 2011

A 17-month-old boy whom the city had placed in a foster-care home in Brooklyn was in critical condition Friday after being found barely breathing and with bruising "covering just about his entire body," according to a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case.

Badly Bruised 17-Month-Old Found at Foster-Care Home Sean Gardiner 2011

Two years later, California became one of a handful of states to pass a law allowing foster-care youth to stay in the system until age 21.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011

"We had lots of storage capacity to warehouse the kids for long periods of time and no proper exit," said Mr. Hewitt, who left the foster-care agency job in 2007.

Foster Care Gets an Overhaul Bobby White 2011