Volunteers needed for Foster Care Review Boards
Yuma County is just one of the many counties throughout the state that is in desperate need of volunteers to serve on review boards that advise juvenile court judges on the welfare and progress of children in the foster care system or in an out-of-home placement.
Thelma Lundy, who has been a volunteer since the late 80s, when she moved here with her military husband, said there are currently two Foster Care Review Boards (FCRB) in Yuma County, and both have openings that need to be filled.
“I do it because I really want to make a difference in these children’s lives,” Lundy said. “All you need to serve on one of these boards is a good and willing heart.”
Lundy explained that each board is comprised of five people and are assigned up to a maximum of 100 cases at a time. She added that the well-being of the children must be the highest concern to board members.
The boards, according to Lundy, meet once a month here, usually on a Wednesday or Thursday, and read through each of the cases assigned to them, speak to the people involved and make determinations on how safe the children’s current situation is.
They also discuss how the children are progressing toward getting out of foster care and when they could have a permanent place to live.
“Judges would love to have the time to interview caregivers, see if a child is thriving in school, or do other research into a placement. They simply don’t have time,” said Heather Murphy, communications director for the Arizona Supreme Court. “That’s where the Foster Care Review Boards assist the courts – in being the eyes and ears for the judge.”
Boards are created as needed when existing ones are at their maximum caseload, with Lundy saying that a third board is needed in Yuma due to the growing number of children being placed into foster care here. That brings the number of volunteers needed between the three boards to eight.
“We are actively trying to fill and create that board now,” Murphy said.
According to Murphy there are currently over 300 children in the foster care system in Yuma, which by far exceeds the maximum caseloads for the two boards that are already established.
Murphy said boards such as Lundy’s, which has two openings, are meeting with less than the optimal five members, with only three needed for a quorum. In other cases, some volunteers are sitting on multiple boards to try and meet demand.
There is at least one Foster Care Review Board in each Arizona county with several boards in the more populated counties.
While there are no specific qualifications to serve on a board, Murphy said potential volunteers must complete an application, undergo and pass a background check and go through an informal interview process.
Volunteers who are chosen will be appointed to a board by the presiding juvenile court judge in the county they will be serving in. Appointments are for three years, unless the volunteer is being appointed to fill a vacancy in a term that hasn’t expired yet.
Lundy said that once appointed, you can chose to serve as many terms as you would like.
Ideally, the board member would also accurately reflect the population of the children going through the courts, but Murphy said some communities, such as Yuma, aren’t well represented.
“The perfect scenario would be that our boards reflect the population of the communities they serve, but there is a lack of ethnic diversity,” Murphy said. “We know our boards are a little lopsided right now, and we want to change that.”
In Yuma, 23 percent of the children in foster care are of Hispanic origin, seven percent are of African American decent and five percent are Native American, and more board members from these ethnic groups are needed.
Murphy said her goal is to have a waiting list filled with the names of volunteers and that the boards are a good opportunity for military spouses.
She explained that being selected as volunteer in Arizona may make becoming a volunteer easier wherever their next duty station may be, if the state has a similar process in place. Arizona is one of 24 states that does.
For more information on foster care review boards or to learn how to volunteer, go to https://www. azcourts.gov/fcrb or by calling the Dependent Children Services of the Arizona Supreme Court and Administrative Office of the Courts at 1 (602) 452-3400.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 5396854. Find him on Facebook at www. Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.