Welcome to the BraamKids website! This site is designed to provide information to foster youth, foster parents, social workers, child advocates, and anyone interested in learning about the plan for reforming the foster care system in Washington State, including how you can get involved. This site is provided courtesy of the Plaintiffs in Braam v. State of Washington, a lawsuit about the conditions in foster care.
What is Braam?
Braam vs. State of Washington was originally filed in 1998 and settled in July of 2004. As part of the settlement agreement, the State agreed to make reforms in six key areas:
Placement Stability
Mental Health
Foster Parent Training and Information
Unsafe/Inappropriate Placements
Sibling Separation; and
Adolescent Services
The Braam Oversight Panel was created to come up with a clear and specific implementation plan for the State to follow. To learn more, select Background Information in the sidebar on the left.
What's currently going on with Braam?
Foster Youth Survey Released!!
On September 4, 2008, the most extensive single-state survey of foster youth anywhere in the country was released by Washington State officials, as part of the state’s efforts to reform its foster care system. It is one of the only surveys of foster youth in which they were questioned directly about their experiences. The survey is part of a broad reform effort that began in 2004, after the State settled the Braam vs. State of Washington lawsuit brought by both state and national advocacy groups to improve its foster care system.
You can find results of the survey on the Braam Oversight Panel website here.
More information to follow!!!
June 2008 Court Action
On June 30, 2008, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Charles R. Snyder determined the Department of Social and Health Services had violated terms of the Braam Settlement Agreement and ordered the Department to come into compliance. For more information, go to Recent Developments.
The Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Enforce the Settlement Agreement on May 15, 2008, nearly four years after the parties reached an agreement reached in Braam v. Washington (July 2004). In the Motion, the Plaintiffs claim that the state has failed to comply with the Braam Settlement, which was intended to make desperately needed changes to Washington's foster care system.
The Plaintiffs' motion focused on "egregious" examples of continued non-compliance and asked the court for enforcement in four specific areas:
Safety
Caseload Sizes
Sibling Contact
Mental Health Screenings
More information about the Plaintiffs' return to court can be found here. The Department's response can be found here.
Media coverage on the Plaintiffs' announcement can be found in Braam in the News.
2008 Supplemental Budget Signed by Governor...
The 2008 Supplemental Operating Budget directly responds to 3 of the 4 major concerns raised by the Plaintiffs' attorneys in the recently filed Motion to Enforce the Settlement Agreement.
For more information on the 2008 legislative session, go to Recent Developments.
Groundbreaking Foster Parent Survey...
In September 2007, the Survey of Foster Parents and Caregivers in Washignton State was released. We believe it to be the most comprehensive ongoing state foster parent survey ever conducted in this country. Over 1,200 foster parents were interviewed on a range of topics related to the Braam Implementation Plan.
Welcome to the BraamKids website! This site is designed to provide information to foster youth, foster parents, social workers, child advocates, and anyone interested in learning about the plan for reforming the foster care system in Washington State, including how you can get involved. This site is provided courtesy of the Plaintiffs in Braam v. State of Washington, a lawsuit about the conditions in foster care.
The Braam Oversight Panel was created to come up with a clear and specific implementation plan for the State to follow. To learn more, select Background Information in the sidebar on the left. 