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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08152000 - C187 tom. � PERVISORS Con r TCS: BOARD OF SU Costa FROM: PHIL BATCHELOR, County Administrator County DATE: August 15, 2000 SUBJECT: PROPOSED RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 0009 ENTITLE "THE DIFFICULT JOB OF THE SOCIAL CASEWORKER I & Il" SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: ADOPT the attached report prepared by the Assistant Director, Employment and Human Services Department, as the Board of Supervisors' response to Report No. 0009 of the 1999-2000 Grand Jury entitled, "The Difficult Job of the Social Caseworker I & 11". BACKGROUND: The 1999-2000 Grand Jury filed the above report, which was reviewed by the Board of Supervisors and subsequently referred to the County Administrator and Employment and Human Services Department. After reviewing the report, the Assistant EHS Director prepared the attached response, revised by the County Administrator, that clearly specifies: A. Whether the finding and recommendation is accepted or adopted; B. If the finding and recommendation is accepted, a statement as to who will be responsible for implementation and a definite target date; C. A delineation of the constraints if a recommendation is accepted by cannot be implemented within a calendar year; and D. The reason for not adopting a finding and/or recommendation. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT:YES SIGNATURE: COMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMEN T OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ` ACTION OF BOARD August 15 , 2000 APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED XX OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN XX UNANIMOUS(ABSENT 41 AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED Au&u s t 15 . 2 0 0 0 CONTACT:JULIE ENEA(M)335-1077 PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Cc GRAND JURY FOREWOMAN PRESIDING JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT COUNTY COUNSEL COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR EHS DIRECTOR B) DEPUTY Grand Jury Report 0009 "The Difficult Job of the Social Caseworker" Response to Findings and Recommendations FINDINGS 1. During the past year, CFS has served more than 3,000 children, has provided oversight to over 475 County licensed foster homes and used other counties' licensed foster homes as backup and emergency use. The respondent agrees with the finding. 2. Training programs for SCS caseworkers have a low priority within CFS. New caseworkers often are assigned a workload prior to receiving any initial training. The respondent partially disagrees with the finding. EHS Staff Development offered a total of 152 training classes this past fiscal year to social workers. This does not include the numerous training sessions that workers and supervisors were given release time to attend that were sponsored by others. This past year, a staff development trainer with social casework experience in child welfare was hired in order to better meet the training needs of the casework specialist. With respect to new caseworker training, new worker training was provided to 54 new workers last fiscal year. This training included risk assessment, interviewing skills, court-related skill development, child welfare laws and regulations, Child Welfare/Case Management System, and other child welfare topics. While it is true that these workers had assigned cases, every attempt was made to reduce and simplify caseloads for those in training. 3. SCS Caseworkers do not have adequate time to attend scheduled training. For the caseworker, participation in a one, two, three-day training seminar requires finding time from a busy schedule of visits, court appearances and report writing. As a result, training is often sacrificed in order to keep up with other mandated assignments. The respondent agrees with the finding. As mentioned in recommendation number two, in spite of the pressure, social workers have managed to attend numerous training sessions. 3. Studies indicate that, in the future, our universities will not produce an adequate number of qualified graduates to fulfill anticipated needs for professional social workers. Alternative job classifications, designed to assist caseworkers (and thus increase effectiveness) have partially solved this problem in other counties. The respondent agrees with the finding. 4. Because of inexperience due to frequent turnover, supervisors are not able to provide caseworkers needed guidance or support with many common work problems. They are often unavailable because of meetings and/or administrative duties, and do not fully communicate or explain CFS policy. Supervisors are not trained to counsel those under them in the many intricacies of court—mandated requirements, CFS policy and Child Welfare law. The respondent partially disagrees with the finding. Many new supervisors have been appointed as a result of program expansion, promotions, and retirements. Supervisor availability to workers has been less than desired due to the variety of the other duties that are required of supervisors. However, most supervisors are well versed in child welfare law and policy. It is true that workers complain that policy is not always fully explained to them and due to the complexity of Child welfare law, consultation is often needed. 5. The relationship between the Court system and SCS caseworkers is at a low point. The time required by a caseworker to prepare Court mandated reports and petitions, make Court appearances, and contend with numerous Court delays, when combined with other duties such as child visits, finding foster homes, data entry and visiting parents or guardians, often makes meeting Court deadlines impossible. The respondent agrees with the finding. 6. Caseworkers believe their role with the Court is made worse by the lack of respect (even civility) accorded them by lawyers involved with child placement and welfare cases. Caseworker's view and professional opinions are often ignored or not taken seriously by either the Court or the lawyers representing the client. The respondent partially disagrees with the finding. The respondent believes the Court does not ignore the opinions of the caseworker and, in fact, most recommendations by the worker to the Court are accepted. However, the perceptions and feelings of workers in the Court process are very real, and must be addressed. 7. The Child Welfare Service/Case Management System (CWS/CMS), a data collection and report system designed by the California Department of Social Services, is ineffective, inefficient and accounts for a great proportion of the overwork and stress faced by SCS caseworkers. The respondent partially disagrees with the findings. The CWS/CMS was designed by IBM in conjunction with the California Department of Social Services, and representatives from counties. It has, indeed, been cumbersome and has gone through redesign to make the various modules more user friendly. It has created new workload, which required the development of new skills by workers and an increase in the number of clerical staff to assist with data input. However, the CWS/CMS does provide an improved level of automated support to Social Workers. Much of the overwork and stress experienced by SCS caseworkers may be attributed to the new mandates created by the legislature and case law, which resulted in higher expectations on existing caseloads. In short, it is the work, not just the computer system that contributes to job stress. 8. Overwork has caused excessive use of the "Exception Criteria for Less Than Monthly Visit" form (this form is used if an SCS is unable to visit a client within each required month). The respondent disagrees with the finding. The "Exception Criteria for Less Than Monthly Visit" is a waiver that is accepted by the California Department of Social Services allowing for less than monthly visitation with a child if certain conditions are met. Those conditions include a stable living condition for the child and monthly visits for at least three consecutive months. In some cases, the child may also be having monthly contacts with a therapist or another professional Therefore, a worker cannot "over-utilize" an Exception Criteria since the criteria mandate the application. Many workers would like to see all their clients monthly, and perhaps good social work practice would suggest that this be encouraged. However, the Workload Study recently completed indicates that the workload activity required on each case and the funding provided by the State is seriously out of balance. Under current funding, social workers cannot possibly see every client each month, and must prioritize those cases that do not have monthly contact exceptions. e,r '� .... 9. The working relationship between top CFS management and the union is poor and does not contribute to the effective and efficient management of the Bureau nor to a healthy work environment for the staff. The respondent partially disagrees with the finding. Relationships are two-way partnerships. There are many examples of positive outcomes between top CFS management and the union, however, this working relationship could be strengthened and improved through a joint effort. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Training of SCS caseworkers as well as Bureau supervisors must become a top priority for CFS. Adequate time must be provided to caseworkers for attending training programs and seminars. This recommendation is accepted. At the time this report was issued, the department was already delivering new social casework specialist training to seventeen (17) workers through its newly designed training program. This program was designed after a consultant was hired earlier in the year from the Bay Area Training Academy to review existing new worker training and provide recommendation. This training involves six weeks of core curriculum where staff have no assigned cases. They are provided classroom training, opportunities to shadow experienced workers, courtroom training and other job-related experiences. At the end of six weeks, they will begin to have cases assigned to them while still in training. They will be assigned to their district at the end of the eight-week training. Supervisors will attend specific training classes if they have not had experience in particular areas when they were casework specialists. Additionally, the Bay Area Academy is being used to deliver specific supervisory training on casework consultation. 2. CFS should continue developing alternative job classifications creating worker positions with clerical and administrative assistant skills to assist SCS caseworkers. CFS should use more effective approaches to solve the manpower shortages they face both now and in the future. This recommendation is accepted. f �f lG7 The Department worked with the Union on a Casework Specialist Assistant (CSA) classification, and has recently received approval to hire permanent staff. The oral board to develop the hiring list is scheduled for. July 2000. Once a list is promulgated, 10 CSA positions will be filled. In the interim, temporary workers are being utilized. We will be participating on a Statewide Work Group, which will be looking at job classification issues, and recruitment and retention of social workers statewide. The lack of qualified individuals for this profession is not only a Statewide, but also a national issue. The Department Personnel Officer has developed a recruitment and retention plan, which is currently under consideration by the County Human Resources Department. This plan will continue efforts to recruit qualified social workers. 3. All CFS supervisors should be required to complete county management and leadership training courses. In addition, training in the complexities of State and Federal mandated Child Welfare programs should be on-going. This recommendation is accepted. The Staff Development Division, and CFS will work together to ensure that supervisors receive leadership training over the next fiscal year. As supervisors, it is expected that when promoted, they were already well grounded in the delivery of child welfare services. However, ensuring that supervisors keep current by attending training is the responsibility of the supervisors and their managers. 4. All CFS supervisors should be required to set aside sufficient time and be held accountable for assisting caseworkers in solving problems. This recommendation is accepted. It is the Department's expectation that supervisors at a minimum have conferences with their caseworkers every other week to review their work. In some situations, supervisors are expected to have weekly conferences. Additionally, three new supervisory positions have been added, which will reduce the number of workers in some of the larger units. One of the new positions is a "floater supervisor" that will fill in for supervisors during extended absences such as vacations, sick leave, and family leave, providing more time for supervisors to attend to their own workers. 5. CFS should immediately provide the leadership in finding solutions to time, personnel and performance difficulties with the Court. Consideration should be given to a full-time liaison person to interact between the Court and the Bureau with full responsibility to overcome the deep-seated problems between the two entities that now exist. This recommendation is accepted. The Bureau has been working on this issue and has contracted with a consultant to do an assessment and provide recommendations. This consultant has already held focus groups with staff, met with different members of the judiciary, and observed court proceedings. She has attended the monthly meetings held between the bench and the department. She plans to submit a report in September 2000 that will also be presented to the Court. The Bureau already has a Program Analyst who is assigned to Court as its major responsibility. 6. CFS must find a way to communicate to the Court and attorneys the need for improving their appreciation of the value of the SCS caseworker. Resolving this problem will go a long way toward overcoming the resentment felt by the caseworkers in dealing with the Court system. This recommendation is accepted. Please refer to answer number five. 7. Caseworker training in the use of the CWS/CMS system must be improved as soon as possible. This recommendation is not accepted. On-going training is provided for workers on the system. In addition to classroom training for new workers, Application Training Mentors (ATMs) in the District offices provide individual training and troubleshoot problems for workers. Many of the problems experienced by the workers are the result of applications that are not "user friendly" and equipment that is too slow for the application. Both of these issues are being addressed by the State. Faster equipment should be installed at all the work stations by September. Much of the application has been revised, however, there still remains work to be completed on some of the essential modules. 8. A staff position should be created to serve as a field resource to the caseworkers in each office. This senior caseworker would handle technical questions regarding Bureau policy and government mandates. In addition, management and senior staff members must become more involved in handling technical questions regarding Bureau policy and government mandates. This recommendation is partially accepted. It is agreed that senior staff including Supervisors and Managers should understand technical issues regarding Bureau policy and mandates. The department will continue to include this information in regularly-scheduled management team and supervisor meetings. They have the primary responsibility of providing answers to technical and policy questions. Additionally, the Information & Technology Bureau is working on putting manuals online to assist both workers and Supervisors in finding policy information. Additional positions dedicated to field response workers cannot be justified. Any new findings will be prioritized to case-related activity. g. Bureau management should re-examine the atmosphere within which it interacts and deals with the caseworkers union. Personal attitudes and poor documentation have interfered with the handling of Bureau disciplinary actions which, in turn, have contributed to poor caseworker morale. This recommendation is partially accepted. The department has already instituted an informal monthly meeting between the union and CFS management, The purpose is to allow both the union and management to stay informed of issues that are of mutual concern. Many times the union has only partial information and does not know what management is doing on issues expressed by line workers. This meeting will allow for a fuller exploration of these issues in an atmosphere conducive to joint problem solving. Personal attitudes have not interfered with the handling of disciplinary problems. Most workers are working optimally and do not present disciplinary problems. However, if employees see poor performance or attitude on the part of a colleague that goes unaddressed, morale often deteriorates. Training is being conducted to better inform Supervisors on the progressive disciplinary process and the need for accurate documentation.