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MINUTES - 07281998 - D10
SOCIAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT Contra Costa Countv TO Family and Human Services Committee DATE July 7, 1998 Supervisors Donna Berber and Mark DeSaulnier FROM John Cu)lett',Pirector SUBJ CWS/CMS UPDATE Per the directions of the Board of Supervisors, the following is a quarterly report from the Social Service Department updating the Family and Human Services Committee on the status of the CWS/CMS. The CWS/CMS Oversight Committee continues to meet on approximately a monthly basis to discuss policy and operational issues. The Department's Implementation Team continues to meet on a weekly basis to resolve issues that are brought up by users as well as to review and make recommendations on"work flow" when new applications are developed or are being planned for implementation. Attached is a status report developed by our CWS/CMS Coordinator for the July CWS/CMS Oversight Committee. The following is summarized from that report. Functionality Since the last report the Department has piloted the CWS/CMS-generated court petitions on a limited basis. Training on this application will be completed by mid July with plans to implement Countywide giving workers options as to how it can be completed. We are also in the process of implementing the court-tracking module with clerical staff inputting the information after the court orders come back from the court. Additionally, we are analyzing the new court module for implementation to determine the impact on the Adoptions staff. The Health and Education application is being reviewed to determine how this valuable application might be implemented. Staff in the Hercules district office have expressed the desire to "pilot"this application. The CWS/CMS Oversight Committee agreed that a Hercules work group should be established to propose a"work flow" to be reviewed by the Implementation Team and the CWS/CMS Oversight Committee. Prior to implementation on a pilot basis, it would be reviewed by the Oversight Committee. Family and Human Services Committee Supervisors Donna Gerber and Mark DeSaulnier July 7, 1998 Page 2 System Sunnort We have reviewed the role of the ATMs in the district offices and have identified the need for a better structure and a more consistent role for these positions. We continue to need these support staff but need to develop a better understanding of what skill sets are necessary to this task and decide whether it needs to be developed into an ongoing classification. We will be meeting with the full-time ATMs in August to discuss these issues. System staff is working on a solution for remote access to the CWS/CMS. This is important for operational purposes for our After-Hours Program and for staff utilizing the Receiving Center when children are removed from their home. These staff could more easily fulfill their responsibilities for assuring the safety of the child if they could access the System from sites away from the office. State Focus Because this System is a statewide system, it is necessary to have a structure that recognizes the needs of the different users and a way of prioritizing changes and managing the System. The Statewide Governance structure has a Change Management Committee with six work groups focusing on particular issues. The six work groups are: Application; Output (state reports); Technical; Operational Support; Co-Lateral Systems(interface); and, Fiscal. Our County and Region continue to play a significant role on many of the work groups. One of our ATM's proposal for how the contact logs should be restructured was accepted by the Committee and is in the process of being changed on CWS/CMS. Recommendations Our Department continues to press the State to resolve funding issues and workload issues that are apparent to counties with the implementation of CWS/CMS. The County Welfare Directors Association(CWDA)issued an issue paper outlining some of our concerns. I am attaching a copy for your review. Most of these issues precede CWS/CMS and have only been exacerbated by the new expectations brought on by automation. While it appears that the yardstick study(SB 2030), which Contra Costa County's Board of Supervisors supported, will be signed into law this year, we are still concerned about Child Welfare Services (CWS) augmentation allocation. We would ask the Board to: i Contact the Governor's office and encourage his approval of the CWS augmentation funding to provide immediate workload relief; and, .......... .. X��A Aa X X X ................... .............. ............ ............. Family and Human Services Committee Supervisors Donna Gerber and Mark DeSaulnier July 7, 1998 Page 3 • Continue your support of the Department's CWS/CMS technical and staffing support while we continue implementation of CWS/CMS. JC:ceb Attachments axwsupdadhs Wisk 8 © ! `` C C1 U 7 0 M t 0 U iv H O O CL NC _ 0 C 5 .E fy t C G f� c a) CU fay Cp 8 w Cy «. Cly (D co "ain a) � C ca Uz _.! c — 0) w- D cu aj CL Cm E E � � 1 0a) 0 c 0 fn ti3 C1 (D Ca O � � C �,; • U w- fly A C < C3 y 85 •- in :3O 0 E -0 Qy fly fg fJ fly � > ' d C 0 Rey ca � fly 4a) o CL N Ci a) O testy ca 'a'a . l C3 y ily +- y 0 m N t7 ca 0-2c c a) rry a) W5 C 7 N fly 00) N C f3 0 � -0 C Cj cu .La- � 0) � m (D j �{ Cl Cy C3 fS3 ? CL .c 4U > 0 � co CU � r t • 00- . 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G, ........... ................................................. .......................................... Go cc 0 dmd CA go fA a a Ga Ad dmd cc CA 4D Go dmd dmd fA go wa to" fA lop 1� a a 09 in co 0') cc rc ca w rA 0 coo ..................................... .................... .............................. .. .................. o Aw 44 r Li 42 in Cos a lax GD go A no CD CD GL ca cn CA m ca In [ r GD C33 v EL COD law CD lym 62 GD OD bm ca 42 4D PC Cr am `r0 aicem ca i i i i i i ,.,jr4.,h, CHILD WELFARE FUNDING IN CALIFORNIA An issue Paper to Support of SB 2030(Costs) and an interim Budget Augmentation PROBLEM STATEMENT: The risk of child abuse or neglect to children has increased dramatically in recent years. As the problems faced by vulnerable children and by families has increased, counties are increasingly finding that they are under-funded by the state for the provision of mandated child welfare services (CWS). This situation is putting children at risk and increasing state and county liability. An immediate augmentation of child welfare services funding and the commission of an independent evaluation of child welfare workloads is required. BACKGROUND: Child Welfare Caseloads The development of the annual state child welfare services budget and subsequent allocations to counties is based upon estimated child abuse cases in state-mandated program activities: Emergency Response (ER); Family Maintenance (FM); Family Reunification (FR); and Permanent Placement (PP). The current CWS caseload criterion -- variously referred to as a"workload standard,""caseload standard," "yardstick"or "caseload target" — which serves as the foundation for CWS funding levels was developed in 1984. California's workload standards, measured per worker, are: • Emergency Response Assessments - 320 children per month, • Emergency Response- 15.8 children per month; • Family Maintenance-36 children per month; • Family Reunification- 27 children per month; • Permanent Placement- 54 children per month. CWS Budget Construction and Allocation Process The State builds its proposed child welfare budget each year by usingcounty-specific caseload and cast data. The most recent 36-month period is utilized as a base for projecting caseloads. Caseload figures, when aggregated with staffing costs and direct service changes,become the proposed and then the actual state budget. The counties believe that caseload data methodology contributes to the problem of inadequate child welfare funding. The program's volatility caused by changes ranging from new laws to Court decisions, shifts in philosophy by Juvenile Courts, economic downturns, and exploding substance abuse problems can produce sudden and significant shifts in workloads and caseloads. Such surges are not funded in a timely manner under the current longitudinal methodology. Further exacerbating the budget and allocation methodology is the requirement that counties provide matching funds in order to access State and Federal funding made available to them April, 1998 — Page 1 L ...................I..........I............1.111....... ............. .................................. through the State budget process. Fiscal distress and state/county financing policies in the last decade has resulted in some counties, at times, being unable to provide the required match. Reasons for this include: • The state recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s; • Slowed, and in some cases declining property values, producing reduced revenues; • Shift of countyrevenues by the State to the State General Fund; and, • County tax and fee increase structural prohibitions/limitations. Overall, our current budget and allocation methodology falls to assure funding for workload caused by many of the new mandates, local expectations and program designs that do not translate into a given caseload count ANALYSIS California Lags Behind National Standards Nationally recognized organizations such as the Child Welfare League of America(CWLA) recommend caseload standards that are significantly lower than those in California. Many other states generally have much lower ratios of cases per child welfare worker. For example: • Alabama: 13 to 24 cases per worker, • Arkansas: 15 cases per worker. • Colorado: 17 cases per worker; • Illinois: 7 to 25 cases per worker-, • Massachusetts: 18 cases per worker; * North Carolina: 12 to 15 cases per worker. * Utah: 15 to 18 cases per worker. Moreover, 30 states and the District of Columbia are presently involved in class action litigation involving their child welfare program caseload standards. Such litigation often results in court imposed or consent decree-established child welfare caseload targets. The national trend of these court-imposed standards is that they are considerably lower than California's current decade-old standards. Dramatic Changes In California Not Recognized In CWS Workload Standard The caseload-per-worker criterion is viewed by the counties, workers and children's advocates as unmanageable given the changes that have impacted this program since 1984. The number of children coming into the CWS system has skyrocketed. The children entering the system are more emotionally damaged and more difficult to place. And the dependency process has become more complex and litigious. As a result of our caseload standards not keeping pace with the cur-rent environment workers simply cannot provide the level of protection that these children need and which society demands. April, 1998 — Page 2 .................................................. ...... ........................................ . . .. ........... ....... ......... ......... ......... train:ANDY SHAW 4o:John Wilel1. -. .UA1*:4ri'z1W lime:11.ib.UUAi� ......... ..Pape _4 nil U Some of the reasons for these changes include: • Dramatic demographic changes in children and at-risk populations,- -Me opulations;The devastating impact of drugs on children and families; Growth in number of children living in poverty; Increasingly litigious environment in the Juvenile Court, resulting in more continuances and appeals, and a substantial increase in the amount of time social workers spend in court, rather than with children and families. Sacramento County found that in 1995, it spent more than 30 percent of its faster care funds on juvenile court staffing and procedures; Additional workload tasks mandated by Juvenile Court and Appellate Court decisions; More than 200 legislative changes to child welfare statutes since1986, many of which add tasks and complexities to the management of child welfare cases. For example: . • SB 551 (Chapter 913/1989) requires social workers to document in their court report whether grandparent visitation is in a child's best interests; • SB 426 (Chapter 892/1993) requires social workers to investigate all possible relatives for placement, • AB 2129 (Chapter 1089/1993) and SB 17 (Chapter 663/1994)require county welfare departments to make diligent efforts to place siblings together, plan for frequent visitation for siblings placed apart and document all actions in this regard in case plan; and • AB 1570 (Chapter 469/1994) requires social workers to consider, prior to removing a child, whether a non-offending caregiver can protect child from abuse perpetrator and whether the perpetrator will leave the home and stay out and requires the social worker to document this in their report. These examples, while reflecting good practice in most cases, nonetheless show just a few' of the hundreds of detailed statutory requirements that have been layered, one on top of the other, onto the jobs of social workers over the past 15 to 20 years. Shrinking Pool of County Child Welfare Workers The unmanageably high caseloads and the magnitude of problems that each case presents to social workers has led to high rates of worker "burnout" and turnover. Counties throughout the state are experiencing great difficulty in recruiting and hiring qualified child welfare workers. This situation increases the stress on existing workers, while increasing the county costs for recruitment and training. In fact, some counties report that they;must recruit in other regions of the country to fill their vacant positions. Additionally, tic types of problems that children and families have mean that county child welfare workers must receive much more extensive training than in past years - many counties now provide training in dealing with aggressive and assaultive behavior, self defense, and even hostage negotiation. April,'1.998 - Page 3 I ......... .11.11 __ .11.11.. 11.11 ... ......... ......... ......... . ....... _ _ .. ......... . ... ......... ......... __ 1111 _ .. _1 ...1.1......1 ......................... . . ............. From:ANDY SHAW To:John Cullen Rate:4(22198 Time:11:16:00 RM Pape 5 of 6 Activities to Meet Critical Needs Not Funded In addition to these new realities, counties have also experienced changes in service delivery design brought about by improvements in child welfare practices and community expectations. Many of these advances represent effective methods of serving children but are not reflected or rewarded by the current budgeting methodology. These activities include: • School-based services; • Domestic violence interventions; • Multi-disciplinary interview centers; • Interagency committees and case consultations; • Placement coordination; • Shelter care and alternatives for emergency services; • Receiving centers and visitation programs; - • Court mediation programs; • Out-of-home care recruitment and support activities; • Guardianship investigations; • Court officers, translators, attorneys and additional juvenile court services provided by county welfare departments; and • Concurrent planning. • Family preservation services; • Healthy Start programs; Counties have been forced to skim resources away from social workers to conduct these additional activities. In other cases, counties have been required to assign 'social work staff to work that does not generate a caseload count for funding purposes. This creates a "catch-= for counties. in order to engage in activities considered "best practices" counties must divert funds or divert staff, leading to even greater caseload pressures on the remaining staff. On-Going Implementation of CWSICMS Most recently, the implementation of the automated CWS/Case Management System (CWS/CMS), which premises long-term benefits, has also caused significant Child Welfare program impacts, including: • Increasing workloads for case-carrying staff as a result of adding requirements to learn and utilize a complex system; • Reducing social workers' available time to respond to Edi,, 1~R, FM, and PP family and children's needs; • Increasing overall county administrative costs for children's services; April, 1998 - Page 4 .......... 1 .....111 ...................................................................................................... Overall, the CWS caseload target has not been significantly updated to account for current day program expectations and service delivery methodologies. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1} The State of California should contract with: an independent entity for a workload study to determine appropriate caseloads for Child Welfare workers in California in order that those workers may reasonably be expected to fulfill the legislative and regulatory case management requirements of California's Child Welfare System. 2) The state should provide immediate funding in fiscal year 1998-99 for workload relief until this new workload study is completed to enable counties to operate at workload levels at least 10 percent below the current state workload target figures. 3) No county should receive an annual allocation of funding for the child welfare program for state fiscal year 1998-99 that is lower than each county's fiscal year 1997-98 allocation, until such time as the new workload study is ;completed and adopted. April, 1998 - Page 5 REQUEST TO SPEAR FORM f (THREE ( ) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this farm and: place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. Name: Phone: Address: City: I am speaking for myself or organization: - s (nw* of orpanization) CHECK ONE: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # Date: 7 A451 Icy comments will be: general for against I Irish to speak on the subject of . I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to considers PROTECTING CHILDREN RESTORING FAMILIES It Takes Time c w z�; fi } 3 2r t > 2 Fi Writing and Photography by Richard E3ermaCk Produced by County Welfare Directors Association of California and Service Employees International Union Local 535 RECEIVED JUL 2 8 1998 BOARDPROTECTING MILD ON aA ;ACRO. SORS RESTORING FAMILIES It Tates Time Table of Contents Children and Families at Risk From Nigh Caseloads . . . . . . . . . 2 RescuingKids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Giving kids a New Home and a New Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Foster Care Kids Want Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 RepairingFamilies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Family Maintenance on an Emergency Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 An Ounce of Prevention: Community Programs . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Creating a Monumental Computer System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 What Makes It All Worth While. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Child Welfare Workers Can Make a Difference . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Restoring the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Protecting Children, Restoring Families, It Takes Time was produced as a joint project of the County Welfare Directors Association of California, the Children's Services Committee of Service Employees International Union Local 535, and the SEIU State Council. Project team: Michelle Castro, Legislative Advocate, SEIU State Council • Frank Mecca, Executive Director, CWDA 9 Andy Shaw, CWDA + Larry Leaman, Director, Orange County Social Services Agency and CWDA Vice President of Services • Wren Atilano-Bradley, Chair of the Children's Services Committee of SEIU Local 535 • Kathy Dresslar, Children's Advocacy Institute. Writing and photography by Richard Bermack Copyeditor: Nancy Van Zwalenburg Design: Richard Floyd 'thanks to all the social workers, supervisors, and administrators who gave their time and participated in this project Additonal materials including the interviews and photographs of Jann Noddin and Terence Rice are from the video Kid Shields, produced by We Do the Work, Richard Bermack and Ed Herzog. Copyright© 1998, Richard Bermack (lR1 i�fN%WO.KS FAMILIES IN TROUBLE CHILDREN AT RISK Complex Family Problems Economic uncertainty Child poverty Increased family violence Family break-ups Hard Drug Use Increased physical and sexual abuse Unstable family life More Troubled Youth Kids more troubled and more violent Rise of gang culture Lack of positive role models hen the public hears "children's protective services,"'they think of social workers taking kids from their parents or of tragedies that happened to kids the system failed to protect.That is not the whole story.The child welfare system is about protecting children, repairing families, and finding better homes for abused and neglected children. Social work can make a difference. The following interviews, conducted with child welfare workers and their clients, tell about child welfare workers reclaiming families that were on the brink of crisis. Parents talk about how workers helped them learn how to control their children and transform their lives. Over the last two decades the problems facing parents and children have greatly increased. Pressures on parents from economic insecurity, combined with the increased use of hard drugs, have resulted in more emotional instability and family violence.These social problems are bringing greater numbers of children with more severe problems into the system. The child welfare system cannot cure all the ills of society, but it can repair some of the damage. It can help some of those who have fallen by the wayside back on the track and give others a new start. Social work can break the cycle of abuse and dysfunctional family life, but effective work requires time and resources. At present, caseloads are so high that all workers have time to do is document and evaluate cases; they no longer have time to work with their clients and solve problems. Child welfare workers report that they spend most of their time on paper work, filling out forms, entering case data and writing up court reports.They barely have time to fulfill the minimum requirements for seeing clients, and don't have time to work with them. As a Los Angeles family maintenance and reunification supervisor stated,"If you spend 15 minutes interviewing a. kid, you feel good.You're lucky if one hour a day is spent with clients, the rest is paper work.We can't function because our caseloads are out of hand." Child welfare workers need caseloads lowered to a manageable level if they are to have a chance at fulfilling their mission of protecting children and rebuilding families. T CHILDREN FAMILIES AT RISK FROM A D- H _ _ A' E LCCA ��flk Vis, a3 J ry "gli. Jann Noddin, _ right, listens to a young teenager who ran away from home and tried to commit suicide. Her parents feel inadequate to Children's take care of their daughter's emotional social 'Workers are problems. AU so overburdened by high caseloads and workloads they are no longer able to protect and serve their clients adequately. This dangerous situation places children, families, and the society at large at risk. 2 FACTS downsizing, job layoffs, and the lack of job • useanneglected Abd d child50 security has also put additional stress on ren are over percent more likely to be involved in families, resulting in more cases of pressure- juvenile delinquency and adult criminal cooker abuse. behavior. MORE CASES AND MORE WORK PER CASE • Sexually molested girls are more likely to The increase in the amount and difficulty of became pregnant as teenagers. the workload should have resulted in a lower- • California has the highest rate of reported ing of the number of cases assigned to each child abuse among the 10 largest states. worker, but instead workers in many counties • Abused children tend to become abusive have caseloads that are twice the 1984 maxi- parents, repeating the behavior they mum recommended level. Social workers in learned. some California counties have the highest case- • Social workers can break the cycle of loads in the nation. abuse by providing heating emotional support and understanding to victimized -OWERED PRODUCTIVITY FROM NEW children and teaching parents proper child COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSITION raising techniques. The implementation of the CWS/CMS com- • High caseloads are preventing social work- puter system, requiring social workers to do ers from seeing their clients for even the data entry, is the most recent example of the minimally mandated amount of time, increased tasks placed on social workers. resulting in numerous complaints by chil- Workers who were already overburdened are dren's rights advocates, such as that social now having to learn new work skills and pro- workers don't spend enough quality time cedr.rres, as well as to work out the bugs of a with the foster children in their caseloads, computer system that is still evolving. OUT OF DATE CASELOAD STANDARDS WORKER BURN OUT, A VICIOUS CYCLE The last study to determine the number of Veteran social workers are quitting because clients a social worker could adequately assess they are overworked, creating even higher and provide services for was completed in caseloads for the remaining workers. Children's 1984. social workers are leaving at a rate of 11% per MORE LAWS AND REGULATIONS year, creating even more risk for children. Since the 1984 study, the work required to Newly hired workers lack the experience to provide services for each client has astronomi- carry as many cases. cally increased due to the enactment of state NEW PROGRAMS SHOW POSITIVE RESULTS and federal laws and regulations. In the last 10 BUT REQUIRE SMALLER CASELOADS years, over 2501 laws were passed requiring Innovative approaches to delivering child additional reporting by children's protective welfare services, such as riskassessment, family services workers.These changes have mandated conferencing, and intensive neighborhood- more services and reporting per case, without based services, are much more workload adequate additional funding. intensive.The caseloads of workers assigned to MORE SEVERELY TROUBLED FAMILIES these programs are much lower, requiring other The children and families workers see suffer workers to take on the burden of more cases.Many from much more complex and severe problems counties in other states have embraced these as a result of social conditions, such as the programs with positive results. However,California epidemic use of hard drugs like crack-cocaine counties have lacked the resources and staffing to and metharyrphetamine.The increased economic adopt these programs widely. pressure on clients from the changing economy, 3 ' ESCU- ING KIDS k' 7: -* Sol Y; i III �l i� k d Katherin Lujan, senior socia! t 3 worker, Orangewood ` nursery, "We have kids who are injured so badly and are so scared that it takes them a while to become comfortable and make their milestones, like being able to stand up, walk, make sounds. The whole staff gets excited' every time a child starts talking. " but then you get a call from a foster They also want to make every effort to parent saying to pick up the kids ensure that the child's new home is safe. ALAIN DomINIQUE because the two siblings are fighting." However, these efforts require taking EMERGENCY RESPONSE Social workers are in favor of these more time.And given the present case- RIVERSIDE ase- RIVERSIDE COUNTY new regulations aimed at helping chil- loads, taking time far one activity means Not all homes can be made safe. dren maintain some aspect of their family. taking it away from something else. Once a worker decides to remove a child, Spending extra hours to place one child �� 4sY�;'�r' �# � I'''a ` may mean a worker doesn't get to see the work has just begun, There is a �;'��,�",al,zb.°',�'� � ���,,� �' ,"'� shortage of foster care homes, and foster ( another child,possibly placing that child parents are becoming more selective at risk. Social workers are asking that about the kids they will take. ; the availability of services be enhanced "Emergency placements are harder and caseloads be reduced so that they and harder to find,"explains can do the jab right. Dominique."You can be driving around with five kids in the back of the car, pleading with shelter parents to take R� F them..If I pick up some kids at the end of my shift at 4 p.m.,I might not find a home for them until 10 p.m.The shelter " parents want to know if the child hasi�l any behavior problems and the child's history.They want to know what they are getting into,but it is unrealistic to4' ° expect us to have the information when ! p we just picked the kids up. "vou can be driving around with fine kids in the back of the car, pleading with shelter parents to take them. If I pick up some kids at the end of my shift at 4 p.m., I might not find a home for them until 10 p.m. "Recent legislation has increased the criteria for where we place kids, putting more obligation on us to find and place children with relatives.And if we can't do a relative placement we have to document why."So after pick- ing up a child,the worker must first find the relatives and then determine if they are suitable and willing to take the kids.Dominique continues: ' "You might drive for an hour to the grandmother's house in Pasadena,and then find grandpa is a registered sex offender. So then you drive to the other ,¢ grandparents, who have said they want the kids,but you find they are living in a single bedroom trailer and think they can take 5 kids and that they will sleep on floor.Or you get to the house and the roof is caving in or the electrical Los Angeles emergency response worker driving around in sockets have live wires sticking out.We the middle of the night trying to find a placement for a child. are supposed to place siblings together, 5 It is hard for people to believe the simple fact that every persecutor was once a victim.... [There is] the unconscious need to pass on to others the d a's humiliation one S 0i ►► has undergone IL� t ,, 70 ,,�� oneself. a 5e ALICE MILLERf FOR YOUR QWN GOOD: HIDDEN 5. CRUELTY IN CHILD-REARING AND THE ROOTS OF VIOLENCE � - • California has the highest rate of reported child abuse of the ten largest states. ' • Abused children tend to become abusive parents, repeating the cycle. ,fi p M • Children who experience severe violence in h � the home are approximately three times as likely as other children to use drugs and alcohol, get into fights, and deliberately abuse property. • Over the last decade, reports ofrj1 r child abuse „ have increased by 70%. a7 rd Y r r r�a• �a m Because of the controversial and litigious nature of sexual abuse charges, Orange County social workers interview alleged victims in a special room. The interviews are video-taped and watched through a one-way mirror by law enforcement officers, therapists and the district attorney. „Our job is to try to relieve the � �'„ s� � �r trauma and collect evidence. What, ` �� S where, when it happened, and with whom. The alleged victim may be e t d any age from as young as two years old to an adult. We work with law enforcement and do a forensic interview." DIANA HERWECK SENIOR SOCIAL WORKER CAST: CHILD ABUSE SERVICES TEAM A9 "Social workers are so busy we may not get cases brought in until S or 10 o'clock at night.We did 33 interviews in three days. Four-hundred-fifty cases per month is consid414 - ered a normal caseload.Often we are at 1.25%, 150%,or even 175% of the normal caseload.We've investigated as many as m 700 cases of sexual abuse in a month." 7 1 „Heavy drugs are an element inmost of our � � ' cases, because of they havoc it wreaks with people's lives. We don't have the resources to veal with mental health' and drug addiction at a family level.” EDNA HANSEN EMERGENCY RESPONSE MONTEREY COUNTY ti "I get to see a lot of different fami- lies and help them by providing service to keep their kids from going into fos- ter care. Our goal is to keep children at home whenever possible because chit- dren thrive best in their own families. However sometimes that is not possible, and in severe situations we have to remove the child, at least temporarily." When Hansen started 13 years ago, caseloads were much smatter: "We used to have a lot more time to better assist families and do follow ' up visits,and at that time the amount of drug use and mental health prob- lems was not as great.The pressure on Edna Hansen comforting a child the court ordered picked up. families from losing their jobs because The agency had been working with the mother, but it became of downsizing and lack of resources is obvious that she was lying about her drug use when she gave Putting a lot more stress on parents try- birth to a drug-exposed child. The mother has a long history of ing to provide for their children. drug use and criminal behavior. She grew up in a family with a "The clients used to have fewer long history of drug use and criminal behavior. The court problems and we had more resources ordered the child taken to protect the child and to break to give them.We could refer clients to the pattern. family maintenance workers,who could evaluate the case,write up a case plan and work with the family.Now we If we had lower caseloads, we would have have to write up the case plan and we're lucky if we have two hours to more time to engage our clients and help spend with the family.That is not enough time to write a comprehensive them get therapy." plan.That isn't enough time to build up the trust necessary for them to open up enough for us to assess them.We can do some things for them,but not a thorough job." 8 l a k I Viz, IN o � a e 7, h x � k ' l' �l TERENCE RICE EMERGENCY RESPONSE "Sometimes it's a losing situation. Regardless o,f COMMAND POST LOS ANGELES COUNTY what's happening, you're taking a childfrom the 7 „It's tough because sometimes it's a mother....but there is a hand print linear bYUZSeS losing situation,Regardless of what'sr happening,you're taking a child from and a black eye that goes from the ear to the the mother,and the child is traumatized by that. Even a bad mother is some- middle o f the forehead.11 times better than our best foster mother because the child is bonded and there is baby that was apparently born with an themselves they just can't get beyond that attachment. illegal substance in his system.We have that to see the other person.And at this "When I was out there,I thought an extremely severe injury to a critical particular time in their lives,until they that maybe it could have been a fall,but part of the body,the head. are able to do that,you know the child there is a hand print,linear bruises and "I feel really bad for the parents, really shouldn't be there. So,like I say,I a black eye that goes from the ear to because I really believe that on some don't feel that the job is too fun in the the middle of the forehead.We did the level they love their kid and just want sense that you are dealing with a lot of right thing in this situation because we to do what is best,but they are just so pain and a lot of sorrow and a lot of had a history of child abuse.We had a wrapped up living in so much pain kids who deserve a lot better." 9 GiVING KIDS A NEw HOME AND A NEW START a i I �R :z Having someone to talk to who understands what they have been through can make the difference between abused children healing and becoming healthy, functioning adults or turning to violence and serf-destructive behavior. 10 JAVIER CHAVEZ SENIOR SOCIAL WORKER k �� ORANGEWOOD CHILDREN'S off ' HOME. f Orangewood is an emergency shelter in Orange County, where ER workers ! can take children who have been , removed from a home. Emergency shelters are intended as temporary housing until children are either returned to the parents or placed in long-term placement. Chavez enjoys the program because he is able to ' spend time working with his clients, "I try to give kids the necessary tools or equipment so that they can find their place in life.They aren't bad kids. They are just trained to act a certain -„ way.A Targe number of the kids'parents l are in jail.If you look at their genealogy, they were physically and emotionally abused,their parents were physically and emotionally abused, and their grandparents were physically and emotionally abused.It started some- where and never got fixed.They are survivors, but now those survival ' techniques are getting them in trouble Ffa with the system. Old techniques are : hard to change. So I try to open them up to new experiences, to put that a� idea in their head that there is more to life than gang-banging. "The biggest problem is the kids n have no training.They have no one in their life to tell them the importance of education,no one who can teach there the importance of careers,no one to get them thinking about what they plan to do long term.I apologize to them and tell them I'm sorry that this is all they have seen.I show them brochures from colleges,the military,and other voca- tional programs.If a kid expresses an A teenage boy has just realized that he will never be able to interest in a field,we try to show him return to his mother's home. His mother had a nervous break- how to get there.VVe take them on down and was institutionalized. He is the star of his high tours of colleges and universities.The school basketball team, and the coach has found one of his bottom line is to expose them to some- friends to take the boy in. He will stay in Orangewood until thing other than the dysfunctional the coach's friend can get a foster license. home experience they came from. "Now a lot of the kids coming We are supposed to be a temporary temporary housing and the population through Grangewood are more aggres- shelter,but the severity of their prob- is getting rougher." sive and assaultive.They are not afraid lems makes many of the kids hard to Orangewood was designed to house to carry and use weapons.Many of the place.They may bounce from foster a maximum of 220 kids, with a ratio of kids here have already been shot.One homes and group homes and then end one worker to three residents. It now kid was even paralyzed in a gun fight. up back here, so it is no longer just averages about 300,Orangewood tries to 11 give kids entering the system some extra term basis, Chavez fears that they will will they try to solve the problem with services that workers with high case- soon have little time to do quality work another level of special programs? loads are unable to provide. But as it with. the kids. He poses the question; If Why not just lower caseloads and give nears 150% capacity and houses kids workers in special programs become as social workers the time to do quality with more severe problems on a long- over-worked as normal social workers, social work? "I try to give kids the necessary tools or equipment so that they can find their place in life....They are survivors but now those survival techniques are getting them in trouble with the system." ". "5^. r� IA � F " r � a ` . r, t re Senior social worker Javier Chavez with a former gang member. The teenager, whose only family was a gang, asked for help. "1 was out living with friends and they got me involved in gangs and was doing stuff that was bad," he said. "I saw my friends get busted 'cause they were following duties, and t was starting to do that stuff myself. 1 got scared that i would end up in juvenile hall or dead." He never met his father, and his mother died when he was six. He was staying with his aunt and uncle, but they had their own kids to take care of, so he starting living on his own. After halluci- nating on methamphetamine, he turned himself in to the police. He has started attending classes at Orangewood and now wants to go to college and become an attorney. "I like arguing and sticking up for people," he said. 12 Z 1� )ANN NODDIN FAMILY PRESERVATION ALAMEDA COUNTY x, Having someone to talk to who understands what they/ have been through can make the difference between abused children healing and becoming healthy,functioning adults, or turning to violence and self destructive behavior, For many abused and neglected children, their social worker is the only one there to listen and help. ` When social worker Jann N'oddin first met 13-year-old Erica, Erica had � been abandoned by her mother and left without food for 4 days.Jann was � able to find her a new home with her aunt and uncle. With the love and support of her new parents, and Jann's counseling, Erica started to trust the world again and was able to confront the painful experiences of her past. After a year,she revealed that her last step father had repeatedly molested her. ERICA:"Me and my little brother don't know who our dads are, so my mom would use other guys to be our Social worker Jann Noddin sharing a moment with her fathers. She'd go to bars every night and client, Erica. invite a lot of guys over and all of a sudden they were our new dad.Finally It r sad when I hear little kidset molested andshe quit that and all of a sudden we were church-o-mania.We would go to nobody pays attention to then. It makes 1�'e so church all the time.But her last hus- band,he would beat her up,and he mad that nobody's giving them any attention. molested me from,when I was 7 years old until I was 11.And then after a That is what social workers are for, and why while,I told on him.lb clue that I was they need them." molested,I acted kind of strange.And I didn't do a lot of my homework,and I ERICA was off in my own land,my own planet." ONE OF JANN NODDIN'S CLIENTS )ANN:"Erica's reaction of being in her own world is a typical reaction of don't expect a child to trust me right didn't want her for my counselor or a children who have been abused.It is away,especially an abused or neglected social worker.It took a while to get to similar to a woman who has been child,but I work to earn their trust over know her better and trust her, and now raped.She feels that she somehow a period of time.I tell them I will meet she's like one of my best friends. She deserved it,that treatment. So that with them as often as I can,and try to always tries to be there for me as much what a child will do is cut that off,con- let them know that I am a person they as she can. tinue to isolate themselves. can talk to when they feel comfortable "It's sad when I hear little kids get "When I first met her,I introduced about talking about things." molested and nobody pays attention to myself and explained to her what she them.It makes me so mad that was about to go through and validated ERICA:"At first when she came nobody's giving them any attention, that what she'd already gone through along I wasn't sure of her.She was like, That is what social workers are for,and might have been scary or traumatic.I 'Hi,'and I was like,'I don't think so.'I why they need them." 13 Foster Care Kits Want Time PEGGY STEVENSON PERMANENT PLACEMENT RIVERSIDE COUNTY , "Up until February my caseload was about 79,'which is about twice the standard.Normally we are required to see each kid once a month,so I had to get a waiver so that I only have to visit �p � permanent placement kids every three months.I prefer to see them once a month,but there are just not enough . .a hours in a month. "My caseload was about 79, which is about twice the stan- dard.... tarslard.... 21 court reports in one month...figure 3-5 hoursfor the average report. that is '�� easily over half my time...for court reports. That doesn't "I can be getting 30 phone calls per day, and each count the other paper work, call i5 more work." narrative reports,foster care reviewS....�need t0 be outt�ften you have to keep on calling Otherwise we have to drive the report them.Typing the report can take one to Riverside,which can take three hours there Seeing the kids, not to three hours. of driving in rush hour traffic to get the strapper to the desk." "If everything works,that is two report in at 5 r}Nt. and-one-half-hours so far, and then "So figure three-five hours for the "In January I had to write 21 court another half-hour to copy,staple and average report, and I'm writing as many reports.Researching a court report can collate the report,which we have to do as 21 court reports per month,so that is take an hour per kid to contact caretak- ourselves.Then if I'm lucky I can get easily over half my time, and that is just ers,schools,therapists,doctors,and the report into a little box that a court for the court reports.That doesn't count that is if you reach people right away. runner will take over to the court. the other paper work,narrative reports, foster care reviews,which can take " "fr three or four forms per kid.And then , changing a placement.I've had five or six kids show up at the office in one , week needing a new placement. "Then while I'm doing all that,I e ° i can be getting 30 phone calls per day, and each call is more work.My supervi- xr" � sor suggested that I switch my phone to ° , 1 voice-mail and refer emergency calls to the duty worker of the day.But if you 9. are researching a report and have peo- ple calling you to give you information, ` you have to answer the phone.I have teenagers who call everyday,who feel they have urgent needs.They have no one else to talk to.The trouble is I need to be out there seeing the kids,not strapped to the desk." 14 "I'm fed up with my social worker, Peggy. She's not available. I have to leave her messages, and the onlyr way to get her is to yell at her and i then she calls me back. " =� ONE OF P'EGGY STEVENSOWS 79 KIDS ONE OF 30 PHONE CALLS A DAY ONE OF THE CALLS THAT DIDN'T GET RETURNED "I've been in this foster care for 3z years.The process ` sucks,because the rules make me different from other kids, p and my social worker doesn't get things done. "I feel like I have no control over my life.The court has control over my life.And it really frustrates me.I wanted to ;_ " go to Yosemite with my friend and her family,and my mom '� No [her foster mother] knew her family and it was okay with her for me to go,but we had to go to the court since it was far away and I was going to be with her family for a week.I can't go out of state,I can't go horseback riding,I can't drive a car, because I need court approval because they are respon- sible for me.I'm fed up with not being able to go with � friends.I'm fed up with my social worker,Peggy. She is not � available.I have to leave her messages, and the only way to get her is to yell at her,and then she calls me back_" a,. 40 4 S R t s 111`�bi '3 fi :6 u, Stevenson visits.0 94-year-vlr ;girl who was re-Moved from her drug-addicted'rrt�tl��r wh���t�e w�� 1 r Whths old. The teenager has gone from foster home to home. She has been oiagnosed as suffer- and frim manic-depression and has never bonded with any of her faster parents. Stevenson hes; Placed her in,an enriched taster haine where she gots extra services. Stevenson Inas just met with the gut's rrrentaf health worker�'therapist for an hour The foster home is an hour frpm the Riverside office. The girl is gust one of 79 cases. 15 EPAIRING F ;A M ,- I L I E S Z, jj ........... fr µ i 5 t � rt F rt Steve and Paula with four of their five kids. They attended one of social worker Diane {' Brown's parenting classes. Brown(center)is part of a special program that stations workers in the community. "Ever since t started practicing what the social worker taught in her class, my crazy life has become somewhat manageable. " 16 "I knew that in business you had to be consistent to make money, and I 4 z i always thought I ran my household k� � like a business. But I learned the bottom line doesn't matter, In the i t r�� gy�PtyL�t gY"�. household it is the consistency and the message you are sending the kids. Z it � �' 7 � F. STEVE AND PAULA FAMILY REUNIFICATION CLIENTS Steve is the manager of a fast food restaurant.They have five children and completed a parenting class as part of a " "I refocused on what my job is, reunification plan. the passion for parenting, and accept- ing change and learned to ask for STEVE: ` help if I need it and not to let pride "I learned that it was okay toget in the way." have emotions as a parent and that T children are work. ' "I was raised in a "I knew that in business you had to be consistent to make money,and I family where I would always thought I ran my household like 7 a business.But I learned the bottom .r get spanked, but I Iine doesn't matter.In the household it is the consistency and the message you found that spanking are sending the kids.Ever since I start- ed practicing what Diane taught in her lows, and they weren't identifying with my kids only makes class, any crazy life has become some- my message statement. what manageable. "I already knew the difference them angry," "The unmanageableness came between abuse and non-abuse.They from the size of the family.We have focused on consistent behavior and twin five-year-olds, a three-year-old giving children a consistent message. baby, and our oldest is nine. It puts a "The kids were taken from us PAULA: lot of stress on us and we reacted with because of bad judgement on my part, "Before,we had a lot of chaos and our children.We let anger rule our allowing my brother to live here.He mayhem.I was raised in a family where feelings,we let kindness rule our feel- was involved in illegal activities and the I would get spanked,but I found that ings.Now we don't let that come into worst repercussion was my kids taken spanking my kids only makes them play.What is right for the child and away by the state.We did out-patient angry.So spanking wasn't working and wrong for the child is what matters. treatments,and we got associated with I didn't know the other alternatives.I My emotions would vary from day to NA,which is a support group for us learned to set limits,not sweat the day and my kids,not being stupid, since we did drugs in the past.That is a small stuff, but to set limits and would pick up on dad's highs and life style we left behind. stay focused." 17 Family Maintenance on an Ernerenc9 Budeet Y SNEM BLACKLEDGE EMERGENCYRESPONSE RIVERSIDE COUNTY Emergency response investigators respond to reports that children are in dan- ger.Their caseloads are based on making an initial assessment either to remove a child from a home or to refer the family to �' �I ' :a a worker who can do longer-term social work,such as family maintenance, Voluntary family maintenance allows the family to receive social work without removing the child,going to court, and setting up a mandatory reunification plan. The program builds „I had a homeless healthy families and is cost effective few workers in the division and they mother last month.... because it keeps children out of the sys- have twice the caseloads they are sup- tem. Unfortunately many counties have posed to.So as ER workers,instead of I ended up helping her drastically cut back on the number of making two or three contacts with a find a home. 1 hen I FN4 workers. family,referring them to the appropri- "I used to be able to transfer a case ate services,and moving on,we are helped her move in and to Family Maintenance-Voluntary and doing the social work as well as the ER 7 they would work with the family for 3 work,but with an ER caseload. buy furniture, and then to 6 months,getting them in counsel- ing,or we would transfer them to I worked with them Bund her a plumber;" Family Preservation,"reported r, Blackledge."But now we have only a for 6 to 7 hours a E 3.dillikJ '.• �. week for 4 weeks ' During that time, e the family really :., blossomed. The 01 '7father never knew that you can just remove children to ` another room." "I had a homeless mother last month,and instead of referring her to 111115'' :111111 11111111 Family Preservation,I ended up helping - � her find a home.Then I helped her a � 18 move in and buy furniture.Then I � wq found her a plumber.We are talking about spending days working with her, while I am still carrying a caseload above standard based on just seeing a them for an ER visit." °r x . SEEING FAMILIES BLOSSOM � "I had another family where a 13- ° year-old daughter was reported to have a bruises on her bottom.Upon investiga- tion,I discovered that the father had ' been spanking her since she was young.Now an adolescent, she was becoming more rebellious and the spankings had progressed from using a _ Ili i hand to a paddle that the father kept on top of the refrigerator like his father had.The paddle caused the bruises.I explained to him that bruises are caused by internal bleeding and can do damage. So I worked with them, 6 to 7 hours a week for 4 weeks.During that was-acting out to establish her own never have to spank our other two time, they really blossomed.The father identity.They didn't understand that. children/they said.That may have never knew that you can just remove "They didn't spank their child for changed the lives of those children. children to another room.I taught them that whole month,and they said they When I entered this business I said if I about adolescence, that their daughter might never spank the child. 'We may can make a difference in one child's life o =� it is worth my entire career,and I have done that.I get letters from clients thanking me." Although Blackledge enjoys the FM work, it makes it difficult to see all of her ER cases in a timely manner. ER ' workers report they are not able to meet the mandated deadlines and areforced to triage their work loads. They live in . . � ° fear of children being injured before they can visit. Recently a child was murdered �z by a parent. The ER investigation had not been conducted within the mandated time limit, in part because the worker was out on stress leave. } � Because of high caseloads, family maintenance and family preservation workers W are not always available. This forces emergency ° response workers to spend r time working with families Monterey worker Wren Atilano-Bradley(lett) with Maria, a for- when they need to be mer client with whom Atilano-Bradley spent many months working as a family reunification worker. Atilano-Bradley doing investigations, and this places children at risk. would not have had as much time to devote to a case today. See story page 26. 19 AN- OUNCE OF PREVENTION CO. MMU 'NITY ROGRAMS D w �I WS oC»e krds, gyp, when t first Community ,ot them, t social worker Diane Brown saw every drives around single looking for children and Ua .,.Just families in need. having someone in their~ lives to look up to and who ores about what they do can rake all the difference. 20 „Every social worker has been with aamil �` f y and thought, this situation is so x unmanageable. If only I had met thesele eo p p before, when their problems were less intense and when they > °° , still had a sense that � ME they could do better ' � rather than after they � � became entrenched inE v . an anti-social environment.” "What we do is hook up with a kid life to look up to and who cares about or family and stick with them much what they do can make all the differ- CHRIS OAKS longer and work with them more inten- ence." DELINQUENCY PREVENTION sively. Some kids,when I first got them, These programs have been found to MONTEREY COUNTY I saw every single day,and after that I be successful because social workers try to see them a few times a week. have been able to devote quality time to New programs that station social workers in the community and allow ,i them to spend much more time working Kids tell me that when they are out with their with children and families have been { found to be effective. The programs friends, and maybe thinking 'about ripping attempt to reach at-risk kids and fami- Somethingo " or about getting high, they"ll have lies before they become ingrained with fJ, anti-social behavior Chris Oaks is a second thoughts. "I knew I'd have to talk with social worker in the delinquency preven- tion unit of Monterey County. you about 2t next week," they say.," "The majority of kids I work with are 11 to 13 years old.That population "One thing my colleagues have their clients. Unfortunately, because of is much more changeable than when found is that although we would like to budgetary restraints, these programs you get a child 16 or 17,after their believe it is the magic we bring to a have been played off against lowering criminal behavior has become more family,what really makes the difference the general caseloads. What has hap- ingrained.The kids live everywhere is just being there with some consisten- pened is that we have a few workers from Carmel and Pacific Grove to East cy and setting some standards,and who are able to devote quality time and Side—the very affluent to the very accountability. lower income. do real social work with a small number "Kids tell me that when they are of clients, while the rest of the workers "We have incredible successes. I out with their friends, and maybe are forced to short change the over- had one case of an 11-year-old girl thinking about ripping something off, whelming majority of families and chil- who was sniffing paint, being sexually or about getting high,they'll have sec- dren in the system. active, and was out of school. Six and thoughts.'I knew I'd have to talk months later she is going to school, with you about it next week.And you not using drugs, and she has reined are going to ask me all these questions,' in her sexual acting out, they say.Just having someone in their 21 ............- ............. ............. ............ ............. .......... ........... .......... ............ Pookie (right), the mother of three children, lives in an abandoned building with her crack-cocaine addicted mother (left). Pookie is fighting an addiction problem and hopes to get into a drug recovery program. Social worker Diane Brown arranged for a responsible friend of Pookie's to become legal guardian of the children. Pookie: "The kids don't need to be in this situation We are in the process of moving and don't know where we're going. Now they are in a better home I can go visit. I need to get myself straightened out, get my own apartment, and go back to school. I just need to stay away from certain people." go A............ fi "The kids don't need to be in this situation. We are in the process of moving and don't know where we're going." 22 ................ ........ ............ COMMUNITY BROWN t"OMMUNITY SOCIAL WORKER RIVERSIDE COUNTY Diane Brown works the community and tries to find creative solutions for y at-risk families. She first became aware of a problem when she noticed a child eating from a dumpster, and the child's face was bleeding from dermatitis. She located the mother living in an aban- doned building with the grandmother. Both adults were addicted to crack- cocaine.Although clearly an unhealthy environment for the child and her two siblings, Brown was reluctant to place r the children in a foster home. She feared that with the personal hygiene and other problems the children had, it would be hard to find a foster mother who could "!had a six-hour talk with the mom, and she signed over relate to the kids'lack of development. legal guardianship,"said social worker Diane Brown (right). "The kid's are safer they are thriving, they are talk with the mom,and she signed the kids legal guardianship over to the lady. happy, arca they have a chance. It's about getting „Thea I had to go down to AFDC and get waivers.'Ihe guardian will get a kids into an environment where they will thrive, lot less money than if she were a foster 7 rr care parent,but she didn't care.It was- not about getting them into the system. n't about money for her. So then I had to get social security numbers for all the "I was afraid they just wouldn't who occasionally cared for the children kids,because the mother didn't know appreciate the kids and understand and was willing to take care of them for them.I found out one of the daughters their habits,"Brown explained. "They the time beim.After meeting with the had a stroke when she was 18 months don't eat with a fork,they won't act the friend and deciding she could be a lov- old,so I filled out the forms to get her way a foster mother would expect." ing parent to the children, Brown SSI for that. After gaining the family's trust she brought the children to her. But when "It took 9 visits altogether.I was discovered that the mother had a friend she did a legal records check she found there almost every day the first week, the friend had a high and some of those visits were for 3 or 4 school conviction that hours.After that visits were a couple of would prevent her from hours and eventually down to a few ' getting a foster caro license. minutes.But that doesn't count the Brown describes what she time I spent doing paper work on the did next: case.When I get home I usually f "So my job was to be spend 2 or 3 hours on the computer a creative,Iliad a six-hour writing up cases." SHAMEKI THE GUARDIAN "I felt I could make it better and help the situation.I didn't want to see her kids go into the system.The living conditions weren't that great.The house was dirty,the building roach infested.Her kids didn't have beds.They needed a room of their own. "I've had some rough times in my life,but my family gave me a lot of support,and I wanted to be there for her.I wanted to see her vr.�w5 , s get it together,too,and give the kids a safe environment.It all hap- pened so fast.Before,her older daughter wasn't even going to school, and now we're helping her to adjust to that." 23 CREATING A MONUMENTAL COMPUTER SYSTEM REQUIRES A MONUMENTAL EFFORT d �m y t } s �I The federal government is ping into the same problems 1 x corny p takes a lonefg ctme t learn to use the encouraging social service departments private industries haveComplex ep to computerize.The California puter systems can take years of trial and Computer skills and typing were Department of Social Services has error and go through memorevisions. workers'job desc ipt ons.Int oducing implemented the Child Welfare not previously part of many social before all the bugs are y Services/Case Management System f require h hproductivityng lsng-rreatlyd educed drop the in productivity.Even the most mputer system created a sive computer system with the hope o providing workers more accurate While the staff of the computer project report d that they get at least 25% less ""We used to have only three pieces of paper to fill work done, and many say that using the system has doubled their workload. out for a case....Now I spend at least half During this transition period it has aa� been impossible for workers to keep up on a computer r, with their case work.Even working long overtime hours,workers are not able to and comprehensive information about are working diligently with the stem,it mandaunties tory time ate all it cases thin the client histories,and to relieve the and workers to improve y When all thea sin the system redundant record keeping and report wok throkes a significant gh bugs n the system and to are worked out,the system will provide writing.When completed,the CWS geaterinformtion to workers, Case Management System will be trainThe department workerss of adequately. with and the state,improving outcomes for most complex Windows-based software application ever developed. one of the largest vendors,International children and families.But no matter Unfortunately,the implementation Busines�Machines,tet the ystem has how well the system works, entering of a major computer system capable of been pgyechncalproblems, data takes time,increasing the amount tem of me each case es and crea handing the complexity of child wel- crash�easl� sand theinumber of ca es a workerecan sing a o fare information has turned out to be originally had over 300 screens, daunting task.The department is run- even with improvements, it still investigate. 24 WW , HAT MAKES IT ALL WORTH WHILE RICHARD MOSCO ITZ TYPICAL SCENARIO ready to come back.'And of course the SUPERVISOR "The typical scenario:we receive a foster home will say,'He ran away and RIVERSIDE COUNTY call from a foster parent who complains we don't want him back.'The kid may that the teenager isn't listening to her require a special placement.A lot of the Before becoming a children's social and wants us to come and get him.Or kids we see have behavior problems worker, he was an Orange County they will show up and drop the kid off due to the abuse they have suffered. On deputy sheriff for 17 years.As a law in the lobby and tell us,'I don't want top of that,run-aways tend to use drugs enforcement officer he saw the correla- him any more.'So the worker has to and be sexually active,with the potential tion between drugs and poverty, child put aside what he or she is doing and to be sexually abusive to other children." abuse and neglect. Moscowitz helped spend the next couple of hours finding develop one of the first courses to train a new placement for the kid.Or a kid COURT-ORDERED MANDATES police officers on how to deal with may run away;and after a few days Court-ordered mandates are also domestic violence. without food or shelter,the kid calls up increasing the workload of social workers. "Fids who grow up in homes the worker and says,'I'm hungry.I'm "If a relative in another county where their mothers are battered „We are just reacting to emergencies on a dart are more likely to grow up to be g batterers,"he explained.Vbbasis, running to put out fires, If we had a more e are just reacting to emergen- cies on a daily basis.Social workers are manageable caseload, maybe we could spend just running to put out fires.If we had a more manageable caseload maybe we more time with families doze; traditional could spend more time with families doing traditional social work." social work.fr fl ' express a desire to get the child,the court may issue an order requiring a l � �'���� ins worker to stop whatever he or she is doing,drive to that county to evaluate the home and then run a criminal 45 # a i r � 10 ,v f'• ,St background's check on everyone living .. there.The court may order visitation between siblings that are in different shelter homes,in different parts of the county.These tasks have nothing to do F s with the investigation of the allegations the worker is trying to conduct.Yet the worker may have to spend a day driving What makes it all worth while: Moscowitz proudly looks around,and then return to work,pick through the cards he has received from ex-clients, thanking up the pieces,and continue analyzing him for all the help and describing their accomplishments. data for a report." 25 WREN ATILANo-BRADLEY : FAMILY REUNIFICATION m ; MONTEREY COUNTY fter viewing photos of the bruis- es on a seven-year-old girl, onterey social worker Wren , Atilano-Bradley understood why the children's protective services department p wanted to terminate parental rights immediately.Like many social workers, Atilano-Bradley had witnessed many abhorrent situations,but she had seldom seen a child as badly beaten.The child's body was covered with belt-buckle bruis- es,and the mother was charged with felony abuse. CHILD WELFARE WORKERS Social Worker Wren Atilano-Bradley (right) with one her favorite farmer 1 MAKE 1 DIFFERENCE clients, who proudly shows off photos of her now-happy family. Atilano-Bradley prepared herself to them,grooming their hair,and cleaning meet the mother who had done this to their fingernails." her young child.But instead of encoun- So what had gone wrong?What tering the anger and hostility of a had caused this mother to beat her vicious parent,she found a very emotion- daughter so badly? al,young Mexican woman who immedi- Atilano-Bradley was the first per- ately broke into tears.When Maria, the son in the system to whom Maria,who mother,realized that Atilano-Bradley speaks only Spanish,could really spoke Spanish,she started pleadings explain her story.Everyone else had "Dame una chansa!—Give me a chance? spoken to her through interpreters and I'll show you,I'll prove to you I can talked to her only enough to fill out change,"she begged. Atilano-Bradley's court forms.Now that she had found heart opened to Maria."I told her that if someone she could talk to,she poured she was serious,I'd work as hard as she out her story. "Gine me a chance! I'll show you, I'll prove to you I can change." worked, "Atilana-Bradley recalls,"And When Maria was 19,her youngest we both worked really hard. She signed daughter died,and then her husband up for parenting classes and got into was murdered.She left her two surviv- � therapy right away.She asked for visits ing daughters in Mexico and came to ., twice a week,usually they only visit the United States to work in the fields once a week,but I said,"lf you show up, so she could support them.But then I'll show up.'"Atilano-Bradley remem- she found out that her uncle was bers those visits and the attention molesting the youngest daughter, Maria bestowed on her daughters."She Juanita. So she brought her daughters was so beautiful with those girls. She to the United States to protect them. was like a little mother hen,cuddling But Juanita started having problems. 26 Teachers complained that she was Maria,grew up in Mexico.The grand- down and open up. defiant and that Maria couldn't control mother was especially good with chal- So what was really going on with her. Maria even took the child to a lenging kids.The only problem was that Juanita,the defiant child?Atilano- doctor,but he said that the girl was just Atilano-Bradley had previously placed a Bradley instructed the foster mother to acting out and Maria would have to 14-year-old boy with the grandmother. report in detail the girl's behavior prob- learn how to control her better.Maria The teenager fomented a neighborhood lems.The girl would roll her eyes and thought everyone was telling her to gang war and caught the foster home in then urinate on the floor when people discipline the child more,and so Maria the middle. were talking to her. Atilano-Bradley began beating Juanita. After that,the grandmother decid- finally put everything together and Atilano-Bradley was sure Maria ed she wanted only preschoolers."I guessed what was going on: the child could be worked with and could be a really had to use my social work skills was having seizures.The doctors who good parent.The case plan called for and tug on her heart strings.I had examined Juanita before didn't therapy to calm her down and parent- described the girls to her and how the speak Spanish and couldn't get enough ing classes to teach her to control her mother was all alone and had no one details from Maria's description to difficult child. to turn to.It was a hard sell,"Atilano- understand what was happening.So But Maria was not the only one to Bradley recalls. Atilano-Bradley went with Maria and have trouble with Juanita.Within a few Finding the right foster care place- Juanita to the doctor.Her instinct days of getting the case,Atilano- ment for a child is a key element in the turned out to be correct.As soon as the Bradley received a call from the foster art of social work.This foster mother daughter was given seizure medication, home to pick up the daughters because nurtured both the kids and the mother. she calmed down and her behavior the foster parents couldn't control Feeling relieved that her children became manageable. them.This was the third foster home to were safe, Maria started to calm reject the kids. Atilano-Bradley spent almost a So what had gone wrong? What had caused this week driving around with the kids in 7 the back of her car,checking out differ- mother to beat her daughter so severely? ent foster homes.Finally she turned to one of her select care providers,a Spanish-speaking grand- mother who,like "° G �p tilano-Bradleys next task was to keep Maria from going to jail on he felony child abuse convic- tion. She spoke to the probation officer, a who was understandably skeptical at first."Did you see those photos?"the probation officer asked."Yes,"Atilano- Bradley responded,"but you should see x how loving she is with those kids." Atilano-Bradley conveyed to the proba- tion officer,and later to the court,the potential for change tl-tat she saw in Maria."I felt like I was really going out on a limb with the department. a Everyone thought I was crazy.If some- thing happened to those kids,it would come back to me,"she recalls.With her recommendation,the court sentenced t� �t �` I� Marra to in-home detention for six �" t "fir r months,which meant that every time e , u Atilano--Bradley took Maria anywhere } she had to get permission and then ..� •�" �a check in and out with her probation officer,a time-consuming process. For Maria to become a self-suffi- cient mother,she needed to learn to function in her present culture. Mentoring clients is another social work task.Atilano-Bradley helped. Maria 27 through the system, taking her to things because they are dangerous,or doctor appointments,showing her how they can't go to dances in San Jose to get health insurance,and explaining because there is a danger,they listen. how to be assertive in the bureaucracy. We are very involved as a family.If one "Letting clients see how difficult raising of us wants to go to the beach,we all a child and functioning in the system is go to the beach.If one of us wants to for everyone is an important part of go to the park,we all go to the park.We empowering them to be good parents, go as a family.I'm very happy with how so they don't get overwhelmed thinking my life has turned out,and I know it is that they are the only ones who have that way because of all the help I got trouble,"Atilano--Bradley explained. and the parenting skills I learned.My Through therapy Maria was able to family is the most important thing to come to grips with her troubled past me.We are all we have,so we have to and learn how to control the anger and be together." frustration she had suppressed. Maria is one of Atilano-Bradley's According to Atilano-Bradley,Maria inspirational cases.The case closed was like a sponge, soaking up every almost five years ago,but they still keep bit of knowledge and experience F in contact.Maria has become a booster she was offered. for children's services,referring her Today Maria nearly comes to tearsas friends in need.She said,"When I meet she reflects on her past."In my home I with my friends or talk to the neighbors wasn't abused,"she said."In fact my father like over the fence,and they tell me about never hit us,and he even told us girls to "I felt l2 tc e there was problems with their kids,I tell them, never let any man hit us.But when I was J No,you dont have to do that.Here is 23,a car ran into our house and killed my no one there to listen where you should go.Go talk to these five brothers.After that my mother went people before you explode.They will crazy,and we had to move away from the to me. Now I know help you.'Because that is what hap- area because she couldn't be near the pened to me.I felt like there was no house.She was never okay after that.That Someone is there,fr one there to listen to me.Now I know is when my dad got very sick and would there is someone there." even cough up blood. I took care of him But will someone be there for for two years until he died because my "I know I committed errors.I made a Maria's friends and neighbors? Maria mother was incapable." mistake,but I have changed.The therapist was fortunate.Atilano-Bradley fears Shortly after her father died,Maria taught me not to get so frustrated,and that if she had a client like Maria today, married and began a new family."1 had when I was feeling frustrated or angry, with the high caseloads,the outcome a good husband and a good marriage." how to do things so I wouldn't expose my might have been different. She was But unfortunately her happiness was children to that.Some times I would go to able to see Maria as often as every short lived.When Maria was 19,her the resource center and leave my children other day,spending several hours per youngest daughter died and her hus- there if I felt like I was going to explode. visit.Workers don't have that much band was murdered at a fiesta."All "I come from a culture that does a time anymore. those things in so short a time,I could- lot of yelling and screaming.That is Maria and her family were not the n't handle them,"she explained."I had how we were raised to take care of our only beneficiaries ofAtilano-Bradley's never worked before,so now I had to kids.But when I talked to the social efforts.Maria's case required about six go to work in the grape fields.My worker and started taking parenting months of reunification services and then mother would wake me up and say, classes,I started to understand that you six months of family maintenance ser- 'Come on m'ija'—and I would sit on can take care of your children without vices.Had Maria gone to jail,the case the edge of my bed crying,'I can't do yelling and screaming.You can become would probably have taken at least 21 this one more day,I just can't do this.' a more united family by talking things years.Maria could have been so devas- Fis pally I came to California so I could out and trying to understand the prob- tated from incarceration that her children work here and make a better life. lems.You can still have discipline with would have spent the rest of their child- "I never had anyone to talk to about your children by taking away privileges, hoods in foster care.The total cost to this and I think it built up inside me, the and that way they learn about having the taxpayers could easily have anger,the fear,the nervousness.So I consequences to their bad behavior. I exceeded $200,000, and the family would get frustrated and yell and hit my don't have to get angry at them. could have been shattered rather kids.The first time I told anyone about "Right now my Iife is very good than healed. this was when I saw the therapist.Every because I have all of my children with time I talked to her about it,I felt more me.They are almost adults,yet when I liberated from my pain and suffering. tell them that they can't do certain 28 ,tr "I came from a good family... My dad had nice cars and airplanes. But that is the thing about crack-cocaine.. k �3 Men you are smoking you aren't even aware ofyour kids....I couldn't , .. " a � see my future. It took someone like P Valerie to show me the way." STEPHANY A CLIENT OF SOCIAL WORKER VALERIE GOLDEN A 41641 i VALERIE GOLDEN CHILDREN'S SERVICES MONTEREY COUNTY hen children's services work- er Valerie Golden got Stephany's case, Stephany ij felt that she had no fixture left. She had already lost her first set of kids,and was about to lose her last remaining son, whom she had voluntarily given up to 4 `� the system because she felt she was unable to take care of him."I was doing so much drugs that I didn't want my son around.1 brought up my other two _ �II kids in a drug environment and I didn't ' want him in it."Her ex-husband had ++ fled the state with her first two kids to get away from her."I was using crack- cocaine and alcohol and he wanted to take them away from that.I had no clue at the time what was happening to me. I couldn't see my future.It took Valerie Children's services worker Valerie Golden (right)congratulates to help me find it." her client Stephany on her successful reunification with Unlike many of the people in the her kids. system, Stephany came from a wealthy family.Her father owned an electronics you down.When you are smoking you Stephany had already failed a previ- business."My dad had nice cars and aren't even aware of your kids.You can ous reunification attempt and a drug airplanes.We used to go flying.But that be smoking right in front of them, or recovery program."I had other social is the thing about crack-cocaine.It lock yourself in a room and leave them workers before,but they were all doesn't matter where you come from. out there with no food,no clothing,no rushed and didn't have time for me.I You get introduced to it and it will bring nothing.You don't care." went through other programs and 29 fooled people,'Stephany reflected.'But "It is like riding a monster—I can find a balance Valerie was really there for me.She was real harsh at first.I had to see her once between Court reports and seeing clients, Most of a week,and she let me know I had to my Clients have major mental health issues and get serious if I wanted to have my kids in my life." substance abuse issues. I'm constantly living in "When I first met Stephany, I didn't feel she was being honest," Fear that something will blow up because I'm not recalls Golden."But then I saw her there. I'm scared." change and a different Stephany emerge. She would come in crying and VALERIE GOLDEN tell me what was going on.Then she CHILDREN'S SERVICES WORKER started to become more genuine and to look more healthy." MONTEREYMONTEREY +COUNTY As in many social work cases,the turning point was a crisis and Golden's constantly living in ability to be there for Stephany in her fear that something moment of need."I was having a con- will blow up Eliot with my partner, a domestic dis- � s x because I'm not pute, and the sheriff was therethere. I'm scared." Stephany explained."I called Valerie and =' Golden brings to she came right over to make sure my , the job an enormous child was safe.Having her support, amount of experience. right there in the moment,it really Like many social made a difference." l .""'° workers,after working With Golden's help Stephany con- other jobs she chose tinued therapy,completed a residential social work because of drug treatment program,and was able her dedication to to reunify with her children. helping children and Stephany was lucky.Before becom- ' families.But counties ing a social worker,Golden had admin- 1^ are having trouble istered a drug rehabilitation program keeping these for women and had worked as a proba- workers.Burnout is a tion officer. She had a wealth of profes- major problem facing sional experience dealing with drug children's services addicts.And as a new worker,she was departments.Social eager to put in whatever time it took to workers are leaving at help her client.But the pressure of a a rate of 11%per year high caseload and the anxiety of being statewide.In many there for all her clients is starting to counties the average take its toll.She describes the pressures children's social of her caseload: worker lasts only two "In one day I had a 14-year-old kid years before leaving run away from a placement,get picked for another job. up and taken to a hospital psych unit. scheduled.It is not healthy.I have only As I was about to leave for the hospital, been here nine months.I'm a new I got a call that one of my borderline social worker and.I have 28 kids to keep substance abusing clients was going off up with.They live all the way from on a foster parent she had tracked Fresno to Susanville.I can't find a 5 down.Then another foster mom called balance between court demanding I pick the kids up. She no reports and i longer wanted to keep them,because seeing clients, she was mad at the parent. (The kids Most of my w r had been placed with a relative.) clients have "It is Tike riding a monster.Those major mental are just the fires. On top of that I have health issues court reports that are due,documents- and substance „ �� tion that needs to be done,meetings abuse issues. I'm im � 30