The Citizen Review Board (CRB) is a volunteer driven program charged with reviewing cases of children in foster care. Lisa Romano’s presentation:

  • CRB is Oregon’s foster care review program and is part of the Oregon Judicial Department.
  • Volunteer Board Members are appointed by the Chief Justice.
  • In the 70s, there was not enough oversight and a huge spike in the number of children entering the system. Thus the Citizen Review Board was born.
  • One quarter of children who stay in foster care for a year will have lasting or recurring health problems.
  • 1 in 5 youth who age out of foster care will become homeless within the first several years of leaving care.
  • Foster care is expensive. It costs $31k to keep a child in the system each year. Average lifetime cost is over $200k.
  • The mission of the CRB is to provide a citizen voice on the safety, stability, and supervision of children in foster care through impartial case review and advocacy.
  • Volunteers are assigned to Boards. There are 9 in Lane County. Boards meet monthly and there are 3-5 volunteers per board that review up to 10 cases in a day.
  • CRP and Juvenile Court share responsibility for conducting periodic reviews. CRB usually conducts the first review 6 months after the child enters care.
  • At the reviews, the case worker, CASAs, parents, attorneys, foster parents, and family members are involved. The Board makes recommendations for each case around 10 legal findings as required by Oregon law and their findings are sent to Juvenile Court, DHS and legal parties.
  • CRB Staff consists of field managers responsible for scheduling Boards and recruiting volunteers. There are two field managers in Lane County.
  • Lane County has over 1000 kids in foster care. In Oregon, there are just over 7500.
  • There are approximately 40 volunteer members on the review Boards in Lane County. Volunteers donated about 6900 hours in 2015 and saved the state almost $200k.
  • CRBs provide citizen input, common sense perspective, case management resource, and systemic advocacy. The review system is less formal which gives all parties the chance to raise issues.
  • To become a CRB volunteer, there is a short application and interview. You need to pass a criminal history check and observe CRB reviews and court. There is training by way of online modules and one 1.5 day training session. They are asked to volunteer for at least 2 years.
  • CRB stakeholders are also part of Citizen Review Panels and they meet to review systemic issues and make recommendations to improve policies, procedures and practices of the state’s child welfare agency.
  • Some CRB members are also CASAs.
  • Kids who don’t do well in foster care GENERALLY have experienced trauma before foster care and then experience the trauma of being taken out of their home. They are often passed around to several homes. Their security, stability, and confidence diminishes. CRBs attempt to address these issues if they are not being met with counseling and other services.
  • Lisa is at the Serbu Juvenile Justice Center, 541-682-2414. Contact her if you would like to volunteer.

You can learn more here.