The San Francisco Chronicle
A combination of high-tech Internet searches and old-fashioned detective work is helping 22 California counties locate the extended family and friends of children cut off from relatives and living in the foster care system. The approach, pioneered in the child welfare field five years ago by researcher Kevin Campbell, is based on the International Red Cross’ family-tracing techniques. (See “Hunting for Grandma,” February 2006.) While the service was once considered too expensive for many agencies, Campbell’s corporate partner, U.S. Search, now offers “relative reports” for foster children for $25. May 2, http://www.sfgate.com.
