[Humboldt County] Child Welfare Services hits milestone

Blog note: This article refers to Grand Jury Reports

A major milestone was reached in our county during the month of May. There was no fanfare, no press release, no proclamation by the Board of Supervisors. County residents deserve to know what that milestone was, and who was instrumental in bringing it about.

On May 28, Child Welfare Services (CWS) had zero (0) investigations of child abuse/neglect “open” for more than 40 days! This author is not sure if that has ever happened before. The state mandate is that all investigations of child abuse/neglect be closed within 40 days. The average number of investigations exceeding 40 days in Humboldt County had been in the neighborhood of 250 — 300 open cases each day for many years. As of April 2019 it stood at 293 investigations exceeding 40 days.

So how did this happen that we are now at zero? If you listen to Child Welfare Services management, you will hear comments such as: 1) we implemented a strategy of “Plan — Do — Act”; 2) we created a “Backlog Unit”; and 3) we focused on “Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Strategies.” However, if you look beyond these strategies you will find dedicated social workers who put in long hours of work, and bought in to major changes. These individuals rarely receive recognition for their effort, and too often are the brunt of criticism for a highly visible job. Today, we owe them thanks for implementing a new business model that helps keep our children safer.

I do not know their names. I have not met them face-to-face. I do know, however, that they know who they are. They are aware of the commitment they made, and I hope they share this article among themselves and celebrate the fact that their efforts were noticed.

Why is the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jurors’ Association reporting this milestone in this article? As alluded to above, CWS has a long track record of not meeting the state’s requirement for completion of an investigation within 40 days. This shortcoming has been investigated by multiple past Civil Grand Juries over the past 10 years. In addition, CWS’ own System Improvement Plan has mentioned this weakness for many years. Obviously, our county leadership was at a loss as to how to solve this backlog issue. Their response to the Civil Grand Jury reports consistently followed the theme of, “thank you, we are working the issue.”

So, what happened to cause this positive change? Enter the Attorney General of the State of California, Xavier Becerra. It seems that the state was not only receiving citizen complaints about the many open cases but they were also reading the Civil Grand Jury reports. In February 2018, The People of the State of California, the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reached agreement on a Final Judgment to correct many identified CWS problems, to be rectified within the next three years. One of these stipulations was to bring the number of investigations exceeding 40 days down to zero.

Another requirement of the Final Judgment was for DHHS to hire both a facilitator/trainer and a monitor to oversee and assist the county’s commitment to change. Enter the National Council on Crime & Delinquency (NCCD), and the Center for the Study of Social Policy. These two very respected agencies brought both knowledge and ability to assist CWS along this path of improvement. Of course, this support came at a cost — a cost the county may not have incurred if it had been taking prior Civil Grand Jury report recommendations more seriously.

With regard to county residents, perhaps the most important requirement of the Final Judgment was to form a Community Task Force to monitor and assist CWS in its CQI Strategies. Members of the Community Task Force include individuals from most all children support services within the county. DHHS, the courts, law enforcement, tribes, resource centers, schools, First Five, and the California Youth Connection are participants, to name a few.

Then there is this author. As a member of the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jurors Association, a volunteer, I have continued the work that a prior Civil Grand Jury had started. As the only participant not employed in a capacity working with children, my voice is the voice of the community at large. On behalf of the community we say: Well done, CWS.

Eureka Times-Standard
Wayne Ventuleth authored this article on behalf of the Humboldt County Grand Jurors Association.

June 14, 2020