Foster care population drops sharply in California, By Melody Gutierrez, December 29, 2013, San Francisco Chronicle: “California has seen drastic decreases in the number of children in foster care in the past decade, but child advocates say the need for high-quality foster parents remains high. Since 2000, California has reduced the number of kids in foster care from 103,501 to 55,218, a 47 percent drop driven by policies that emphasize keeping families together when possible and, when not, increasing permanent placements…”