Counties have the responsibility for protecting children who have suffered from abuse or neglect. New challenges in child welfare and safety are emerging which affect all counties. Among the topics to be examined: human trafficking of children and the impacts both in urban and rural areas and the corridors traveled by traffickers; addressing the needs of older children as they transition from the foster care system and those who have run away from the system; efforts to reform group home and foster family agency rates and services provided to foster and probation youth; system and services provided to foster and probation youth;  and efforts by the justice and law enforcement systems to work with child welfare services to divert children from the criminal justice system and break the cycle of involvement with county systems.

Facilitators:  Yolo County Supervisor Matt Rexroad and Ventura Supervisor Kathy Long