Braam Settlement Agreement
BackgroundThe Braam vs. State of Washington lawsuit was filed in August 1998 on behalf of a class of foster children who had three or more placements while in foster care. The named plaintiff is Jessica Braam. The lawsuit alleged that the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) does not provide constitutionally required care to foster children. After six years of litigation, a Settlement Agreement was reached and approved by the court in November 2004. The goal of the settlement agreement is to improve the conditions and treatment of children in the custody of the Washington State DSHS Children's Administration (CA), Division of Children and Family Services. The Braam Oversight Panel was created in 2004 to oversee the Settlement Agreement regarding Washington State's foster care system. It is an independent five member panel of experts from across the nation that were mutually agreed to by the parties. The Braam Oversight Panel, in collaboration with DSHS/CA and substantial input from the Plaintiffs' attorneys, developed outcomes, benchmarks and action steps. On October 31, 2011, the Department and the Plaintiffs' attorneys agreed to continue to monitor the Department's performance on 21 Outcomes, which include monthly visits, sibling placement, sibling visits, annual mental health and substance abuse screens, and others. Measuring ProgressThe Department issues data twice yearly on its performance in the 21 Outcomes in the Revised Settlement and Exit Agreement. The Braam Oversight Panel determines whether the Department complied with the full compliance measure in the agreement, and determines whether the Department complied with the 21 Outcomes in the Revised Settlement and Exit Agreement. The Braam Oversight Panel will hold twice yearly public meetings that coincide with its monitoring report. The Braam Oversight Panel Meeting Schedule is available on the Panel's website. 2013 UpdateThe Semi-Annual Braam Performance Report for the period of July - December 2012 is now available. This report includes 14 of the 16 remaining enforceable outcomes under the Revised Settlement and Exit Agreement. In this period, Children's Administration reached compliance for the full 18 months with one additional performance measure: Annual Mental Health and Substance Abuse Screens. In the two previous periods, Children's Administration achieved full compliance on five outcomes; Child Health & Education Tracking (CHET) Screens, Placement Stability, Ratio of Licensed Foster Care Beds to Children in Foster Care, Safety in Care, and Changes in School Placement. In July - December 2012, Children's Administration demonstrated improved or stable performance on 10 of the 14 outcomes, while performance moved away from the full compliance measure on four of the remaining outcomes. For those outcomes where the full compliance measure was not achieved, the report includes strategies the Children's Administration will use in the next reporting period to continue to improve performance.The next Semi-Annual report under the Revised Settlement and Exit Agreement will be released the end of September 2013 and will cover the reporting period of January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2013. Additional InformationCopies of the Performance Reports, Monitoring Reports, DSHS/CA Compliance Plan Reports, and Braam Panel Public Meeting minutes and materials are available below. Additional information and materials can be found on the Braam Oversight Panel website. For information from DSHS/CA regarding the Braam Settlement Agreement or to participate in the continuous quality improvement process related to outcomes addressed in the Revised Settlement and Exit Agreement please email cabraamsettlement@dshs.wa.gov. Reports and Meeting Minutes2013
2012
2011
2010
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