A Humboldt County Grand Jury report issued Wednesday found that while the county’s Child Welfare Services division overall is complying with state laws, “overwhelming” case loads at have resulted in social workers not informing foster parents of their right to provide input at their foster child’s court review hearings.
A second report by the grand jury released on Friday lauded the department’s Public Health Lab — saying it may be “the best Public Health laboratory in the state” — and called on the county to enhance ongoing efforts to determine pollution sources in local waterways through grants and hiring a consultant.
The report also highlighted the lab’s staff recruitment and retention issues, stating lack of staffing has held back progress on efforts to determine sources of pollution at beaches such as Clam and Luffenholtz.
“We appreciate the grand jury and the hard work our staff has already done to address the issues raised in these reports,” Department of Health and Human Services Public Information Manager Heather Muller said in statement to the Times-Standard on Wednesday. “We look forward to providing a formal response well within the established timeframes.”
Foster parents
After interviewing county social workers, the grand jury states it found high caseloads in the county foster care system were cited as a reason for not providing foster parents information about their rights to provide courts information about their foster child’s behavior and development, according to the report.
“Humboldt County social workers reported average caseloads of 30 foster youth. The state average hovers around 18 foster youth, with a recommendation that caseloads not exceed 15,” the grand jury wrote in its report. “A caseload of 30 foster youth/families leaves social workers very little time to meet with and assist foster parents just to explain the [Child Welfare Services] law and the court hearing process.”
In 2015 and 2016, the rate of children being placed into foster care in Humboldt County after a report of child abuse or neglect is found to be true was more than double that of the state average and the highest in the county since at least 2000, according to state data.
The grand jury is recommending Child Welfare Services directly inform foster parents of their rights through training, court hearing notification letters and handouts.
County social workers are responsible for letting foster parents know of their right to submit information to the court when their foster child goes into either a six-month status review hearing or a 12- to 18-month hearing when the child’s permanent placement is discussed, according to the grand jury report.
Foster parents are able to provide testimony and information to the court about their foster child either through a letter, a Caregiver Information Form, or through a social worker or attorney, but can also attend the hearing and speak to the judge if permitted, the report states.
Some foster parents the grand jury spoke to, mostly newer foster parents, were aware they could give their social worker information on their foster child’s behavior and development, but didn’t know they could do so directly to the courts as well.
Social workers interviewed by the grand jury had inconsistent responses about whether they informed parents of this right. The grand jury states more than half of the social workers they interviewed were not familiar with the Caregiver Information Form “and therefore were unable to detail how it was used to provide caregiver information to the court.”
“All indicated they would attempt to notify the foster parents in writing of all upcoming hearings. Some followed that notification with a verbal discussion,” the grand jury report states.
The grand jury also found that required training programs prospective foster parents must undertake do include information about foster parents’ rights to submit information to the court.
“The information is scattered among different training modules and handouts, and is not easily located,” the grand jury report states.
The grand jury is recommending Child Welfare Services train social workers during their annual training to encourage foster parents provide information to the court.
Social workers are required to visit a foster child in their foster home at least once a month, but overwhelming caseloads can prevent these visits, according to the grand jury. What happens instead is the social worker calls the foster home.
“In all cases, the social workers indicated they obtained basic information about the foster child from the foster parent to include in their report to the court,” the grand jury stated.
The county Child Welfare Services division is required to submit a response to the report in the next few months.
‘A gem in Humboldt County’
Several Humboldt County beaches are contaminated with fecal bacteria, placing them in top spots in environmental organization’s “Beach Bummers” list for several years running and on the state’s list of impaired waters.
The county’s Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health Lab is working to find the sources of this contamination at Clam, Luffenholtz, Trinidad State and Moonstone beaches and is well-equipped to do so, according to a Wednesday grand jury report.
The grand jury did not hold back on its commendations for the county’s public health lab in its report on water quality testing on Wednesday, calling the lab a “gem in Humboldt County” and perhaps the best public health lab in the state.
The lab is certified as a bioterrorism lab by the Department of Homeland Security, which has resulted in the lab receiving “modern equipment” that allows it to perform enhanced water quality tests.
Recently, the department began tests to determine where the fecal bacteria is sourced from with results expected soon using “cutting-edge test procedures,” according to the grand jury.
“The causes of all the pollution are not yet known but the lab has developed markers which will track microbial sources and determine the various pollution causes,” the report states. “This will be beneficial to agencies throughout California and beyond its borders.”
But a combination of lack of staffing and mandated testing for the Department of Homeland Security is delaying this work, according to the grand jury. The lab only has one microbiologist and a lab manager when it is budgeted for three microbiologists, according to the grand jury. A second microbiologist is currently undergoing training. Two lab assistant positions are also unfilled, the report states.
“Microbiologists can earn $20,000 to $30,000 more in annual income working in other California counties, a fact which makes recruitment difficult,” the grand jury report states, citing a problem that is affecting other county departments and industries.
The lab must also put other tests on hold to conduct tests on samples submitted by the Department of Homeland Security. How accurate these tests are determines whether the lab keeps its Department of Homeland Security certification and its funding, according to the grand jury.
The grand jury is recommending the county Board of Supervisors apply for grant funds and for the Department of Health and Human Services to hire a consultant to determine sources of contamination to local waters caused by local animals and vegetation.
The board and department are required to submit responses to the report in the next few months.
June 27, 2018
Eureka Times-Standard
By Will Houston
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