But the system recently got a rare boost when an Oakland-based children's advocacy group ranked the county number two in the state for the department's performance in a dozen federal and state measures for permanence, stability and safety.
Released late last month by the National Center for Youth Law, the report entitled, "Broken Promises: California's Inadequate and Unequal Treatment of its Abused and Neglected Children," ranked California's 58 counties, according to reunification of children with their biological families, recurrence of abuse and adoption out of foster care.
Despite the high marks, Elliott Robinson, director of the county department of social and employment services, said he doesn't put much stock in the report that compares such different-sized counties, as the report does. Only Amador County, which has about 100 children in county care, scored better than Monterey County, which has about 450 children in the system.
San Jose lawyer Robert Powell, a critic of Robinson and the county's juvenile dependency system, had an even harsher opinion of the report, describing its results as "worthless."
Powell is preparing a lawsuit against the county on behalf of Megan Allen of Salinas, whose son Jaime Ceballos died in a foster care home on Nov. 27. While Salinas police say the boy's death was accidental, Allen alleges Jaime was physically abused.
The district attorney's office has not announced whether it plans to file negligence charges against the boy's foster parents, Ada and Antonio Sifuentes of Salinas.
Powell is also threatening a civil lawsuit against the county on behalf of other biological parents who say they have been treated unfairly by the county's juvenile dependency system.
The report did not consider the rate of removal of children from their biological families, which is the base of criticism for Powell.
He contends the system churns out social workers far too eager to remove children from their biological families. Allen's four children, including Jaime, were removed from her custody without real evidence the children were in danger, he contends. The three surviving children are scheduled to be adopted.
Powell said each time he has filed a lawsuit over a foster care issue issue in other counties, he has had a simple wish.
"All I realistically hope for is that the one or two named individuals will think just a little bit longer, do just a little more research and actual investigation before they rip the next child, kicking and screaming, from the arms of the child's parents."
Robinson disagrees with Powell's assessment of the foster care system.
In Monterey County, Robinson said his department has a very high barometer for what constitutes danger or negligence, requiring removal of a child. For instance, a report of a dirty home isn't enough to force the removal of a child, he said.
That partly explains why the county had a low foster care placement rate, 4.1 children removed for every 1,000 in 2005, up from the previous year when the rate was 3.9 percent. But it remains one of the lowest in the state. Statewide the average dropped from 8.4 percent to 8.1 percent last year.
Robinson said he believes the county has a healthy foster care system based on the low rate of placements and a low rate of abuse reoccurrence.
The report found that at the federal level, 6.1 percent of children are abused again within six months of coming into contact with the juvenile dependency system because of earlier abuse. In Monterey County, the percentage was about 3.8 percent.
The county also is on par with federal standards in reuniting children with their biological families within a year. Reunification at the federal level is 76.2 percent and Monterey County's score is about 76 percent.
Biological families are given a year to make reunification work; otherwise, parental rights can be terminated, Robinson said.
Monterey County does a far better job at having children adopted out of foster care who are still in the system two years after entering the system. The Monterey County average is about 68 percent and the federal average is only 32 percent.
Powell said the adoption measurement itself is indicative of the problems with foster care. He contends the system promotes adoption over reunification.
Robinson said it isn't fair to look at that adoption figure in a vacuum.
In Monterey County officials have made a concerted effort to place children with families who are open to adopting them if reunification doesn't work, Robinson said.
"We can work with the foster parents and be a stable resource if the reunification doesn't work."
Despite the criticisms from Powell and Robinson, the county-by-county report does for the first time provide a comprehensive report card of the state's individual foster care systems, said Curt Child, a lawyer with the National Youth Law Center.
spurewal@montereyherald.com.
To view the "Broken Promises" report go the National Center for Youth Law, visit www.youthlaw.org.