Foster youth organization opposes bill to open dependency courts

Foster youth organization opposes bill to open dependency courts - San Jose Mercury News

A Democratic state legislator who vowed to better protect California's 58,000 foster children by opening up the secretive dependency courts governing their lives now faces opposition from the very youth his bill aims to champion.
Declaring that "children need sunshine to thrive and so does our dependency system," Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Feuer is pushing a bill that would bring California in line with a growing number of states that have taken the foster care courts out of the shadows. Assembly Bill 73, set for a key committee hearing Tuesday, proposes testing open courts for four years in three of California's 58 counties, including Los Angeles. If the pilot program proves successful, the courts would be opened statewide.