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Phase 2 Acknowledgements

      This report could not have been completed without the help of a very large number of people.

      We wish to thank the former Director of Santa Clara County Social Services Agency, Yolanda Rinaldo, the initiator of an important discussion with Dr. Sylvia R. Andrew, the Dean of the College of Social Work at San José State University, about the possibility of a joint research project with the Agency and the College.

       Thank you to Leroy Martin, former Director of the Department of Family and Children's Services, who chaired the Advisory Committee and provided valuable oversight for the research project until his retirement and to Norma Doctor Sparks, current Director of the Department of Family and Children's Services.

        We extend a special appreciation to the members of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. This research could not have been conducted without ongoing support from the Board of Supervisors, and we thank them for their consideration of this very important issue.

      Thank you to the Latino Social Work Network of Santa Clara County for their continuing interest and support.

      We truly appreciate the support and direction from our Advisory Committee members from Social Services Agency: Cindy Amador, Jorge Gonzalez, and Rebecca Rojas. Special thanks to Community members Noemi Baiza and Faith Fauntleroy who provided key insights from their experiences as former employees and community leaders. Thanks also to Mary Helen Doherty, formerly of DFCS and current Executive Director of Child Advocates.

       Judi Boring and her staff, David Heinen and Yvonne Zing, were especially helpful with providing access to the CWS/CMS system and arranging for the data set that was used in this report. Judy Bushey was extremely helpful in guiding us through the court report sections of the child welfare case records. Thank you to Stan Lee and his staff who provided valuable training on the court report section of the child welfare case records and to Maria Gonzalez who made the case records available for coding.

      Our special thanks to Dean Sylvia R. Andrew who provided members of the research team with the precious resource of matched release time.

      The completion of Phase 2 was also made possible by our talented and dedicated student research assistants: Jessica Coon, Susan Grace, Kathleen Kaminitz, Mandana Mahdavi, Molly McNelley, Jennifer Morris, Tanesia Paige, Penny Sandhu, Elise Travertini, and Bernard Voon. Their work on the case record reviews and data entry was truly invaluable.