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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03012005 - D.2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS s:...t FROM. Mark DeSaulnier __ Contra CostaOI � L4• 1 DATE: March 1, 2005 / SrA_covr�'i`; County SUBJECT: Review of County Policies in the Placement Of Vulnerable Clients SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATIONS)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: REFER to the Family and Human Services Committee, the review of existing referral practices and best practices in other jurisdictions as well as the possible development of protocols and standards on County referrals to community based organizations. CONSIDER the creation of a working group to develop specific protocols and rules of conduct for referral agencies. DIRECT the Health Services Director, the Public Health Director and the Employment and Human Services Director to report to the Board of Supervisors, via the Family and Human Services Committee, with recommendations on how to ensure the safety of individuals referred to services by the County within four months. FISCAL IMPACT: None. BACKGROUND: Each year thousands of individuals and families are referred by County agencies to services offered by community based organizations and agencies for special support and assistance. These organizations—some licensed and some not - are usually supported by a patchwork of federal and/or state allotments, foundation grants, county money and their own fund raising efforts withWide ranging and diverse standards of operation. However, it is the County who is directly involved with the process of referring vulnerable members of our community to these organizations for aid and assistance. We have recently become aware of a circumstance where an officer of such an unlicensed agency used subjective judgment in the hiring of a shelter manager. While we continue to support the good work and contributions made by this organization over many years of existence in our County, it does raise the question of how responsible we are in our referral process and to what extent we are sure that we refer our residents to safe, supportive and protected services. To that end we must review our processes to make sure that the accountability of those agencies be beyond question. r CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: f..�- 1 RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMM DATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE( ACTION OF BOARD ON_PN A oLIA l 2� � APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED. OTHER_7( 5CE AlrACH6-D -AT>I>FNT>LAM. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS 1S A TRUE ''.UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED JOHN SWEETEN,CLE OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Contact: cc: BY ,DEPUTY ADDENDUM TO ITEM D.2 March 1, 2005 On this day,the Board of Supervisors CONSIDERD referring to the Family&Human Services Committee a review of County policies and procedures on the placement of vulnerable clients with community-based organizations and taking related actions. Supervisor DeSaulnier recommended changing the wording in the first paragraph of the Board Order's Recommendations to read: "REFER to the Family and Human Services Committee,the review of existing referral practices and best practices in other jurisdictions as well as the possible development of protocols and standards on County referrals to eemmunity LAQRJ 51) A`JL JL`A"``%.7 w"'%e`'"5"`A Ar"'A 01- Supervisor DeSaulnier proposed a review of the hiring criteria for persons in supervisory positions who work with vulnerable populations.He asked County department heads to assist by providing more information on where such a review could be applicable. Chair Uilkema encouraged the Board to consider the history of the Board's involvement in residential rehabilitation programs. Supervisor DeSaulnier said that the Board's discussion and recommendations on this item were consistent with his desire to have this be a broadly-scoped review. He noted that there is a civil action currently in progress on the incidents at Shelter,Inc.,which requires due process. He further noted that it could be possible for some legislative suggestions to come out of this process. Supervisor DeSaulnier then stated that it would be a mistake to have this discussion and not acknowledge the heroic efforts made by so many people in this field. The public was invited to address the Board. The following persons provided testimony: ■ Janet Marshall Wilson,, Concord resident; ■ Justin Johnson ■ Susan Prather,El Cerrito resident; ■ Duane Chapman,Richmond resident; The Board of Supervisors took the following action by unanimous decision: REFERRED to the Family&Human Services Committee a review of County policies and procedures on the placement of vulnerable clients with community-based organizations and taking related actions; AMENDED the language of the Board Order in sentence one,paragraph one,to strike the words "community based organizations"; DIRECTED County Counsel and the County Administrator's Office to report back to the Board with a review of current contractual provisions and procedures to determine if there are deficiencies that need to be corrected, and an outline of the County's role in contractual obligations,to include a review of past and future practices; DIRECTED County Council and the County Administrator's Office to provide an incident report on the recent occurrences, and responses to occurrences,at Shelter,Inc.,which is to come back to the Board prior to the return of the review by the Family and Human Services Committee.