Nevada Grand Jury to CPS: Missed cases should trigger policy review

By Kyle Magin
Staff Writer

Nevada County's Child Protective Services office mishandled a suspected child abuse case in 2010 and needs to review its policies, Nevada County's Grand Jury said in a Monday report.

In a report released on its website, Nevada County's Grand Jury reported a Child Protective Services social worker failed to enter in one case of alleged child abuse into a state computer system, and subsequently failed to do a follow-up investigation on the case.

The report does not identify the complainant, but said that person came to the Grand Jury after filing the report and hearing nothing back from the office after following up with multiple messages. The jury advised the complainant to contact CPS management, which the complainant did, and received a proper response to the child abuse report, according to the Grand Jury.

“The Jury concludes that a breakdown in the walk-in reporting process allowed this report, and may have allowed other reports, of suspected child abuse to go unrecorded,” the report said.

Officials in the Nevada County Social Services Department are taking the findings very seriously, said Director Allison Lehman.

“The most important thing here is the safety and welfare of children in Nevada County,” Lehman said. “We'll be looking at the Grand Jury's recommendations.”

The Grand Jury recommended CPS officials implement a policy to confirm that a report is recorded in the state database and that social workers at CPS annually review their responsibilities.

The Child Protective Services staff, which includes 15.5 employees, handles 900 referrals each year, of which 500 require a follow-up investigation, Lehman said.

It is CPS policy for an emergency response social worker to review each case of suspected child abuse for possible investigation, Lehman added.

“We have professional and dedicated social workers who work extremely hard to protect children,” Lehman said.

Child Protective Services officials are expected to formally respond to the report in September in front of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors.

To view a copy of the report, click here.

To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.

http://www.theunion.com/article/20110607/NEWS/110609832/1001&parentprofile=1053