Orange County Grand Jury
• 2006-2007
• Agency Response
Response to:
Death By Abuse: One Death Is Too Many 06/04/07, 137K
County Executive Officer*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 3 findings
F1
Client Death and Serious Incident Reviews (CDSIR): CDSIRs have been effective in improving procedure within the agency. Response: Agree with finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Quality Assurance: SSA should continue Quality Assurance investigation and procedural review based on best practice along with CDSIR. Response: The recommendation has been implemented. SSA will continue Quality Assurance investigation and procedural reviews based on best practice along with Client Death and Serious Incident Reviews (CDSIRs), which had begun well in advance of the Grand Jury's issuance of its report. Exhibit 2 Child Abuse Awareness: SSA should conduct an aggressive public service campaign to
F2
Child Abuse Registry (CAR) Awareness: Brochures, pamphlets, and public service announcements about CAR are not widely distributed or displayed. Response: Disagree wholly with finding. CAR presents and distributes a video in English and Spanish, which contains detailed information about the child abuse reporting process. Brochures and rolodex cards containing the CAR hotline telephone number and other pertinent information regarding child abuse reporting are distributed as a normal part of the Speaker's Bureau procedure or when requested. Social workers in Social Services Agency (SSA) Children and Family Services (CFS) division's Child Abuse Registry (CAR) educate mandated reporting groups in the community on their legal responsibilities and how to report suspected child abuse and neglect. The CAR telephone number also appears on various websites. SSA also collaborates with The Raise Foundation, which has been designated by the Orange County Board of Supervisors as Orange County's Child Abuse Prevention Council. The Raise Foundation provides public awareness throughout the County on issues related to child abuse, child abuse prevention, and child abuse reporting. At the Orange County Fair, The Raise Foundation distributed thousands of pieces of literature on child abuse prevention. Some of this literature contained the CAR telephone number and information on how to file a child abuse report.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
educate the general public about child abuse. The anonymity of reporting to CAR needs to be publicized throughout Orange County, including radio and TV public service announcements in English and Spanish. Response: The recommendation has been implemented. As indicated above in Finding 2, and long before the Grand Jury issued its Report, The Raise Foundation was and continues to be designated by the Orange County Board of Supervisors as Orange County's Child Abuse Prevention Council. They are responsible for increasing public awareness on child abuse and child abuse reporting and SSA continues to collaborate with them in their efforts. The Raise Foundation has an aggressive public service campaign, which includes, but is not limited to, the following: > All public information pieces developed for public awareness campaigns, including brochures, newsletters, flyers, etc., contain the CAR telephone number along with a statement indicating that calls can be made anonymously. > At the Orange County Fair, The Raise Foundation distributed thousands of pieces of literature on child abuse prevention. Some of this literature contained the CAR telephone number and information on how to file a child abuse report. > At the Festival of Children in South Coast Plaza child abuse materials were distributed. > Over 4,800 Orange County residents were provided with food baskets, sweaters and coats, Mother's Day gift bags, and diapers or baby products. Each food basket and gift bag included information, in English and Spanish, about child abuse prevention, as well as information about available services, e.g. parenting classes. ➤ The Blue Ribbon Child Abuse Prevention Campaign kick-off was held on March 30th. In addition, The Raise Foundation partnered with Family Resource Centers (FRCs) in their local Blue Ribbon Child Abuse Prevention events. > The Safe Surrender Option DVD was developed, produced, and is being distributed to bring greater public awareness to the safe surrender law. > Over 600 of the Guide for New Parents were distributed. This page parenting manual, of more than 400 pages, contains information on child abuse and included the CAR telephone number. > Information on child abuse reporting was included in Parenting Education Programs that were conducted throughout the County, as requested. > Child abuse awareness/prevention information and materials were provided to over 48 business and school partners that participated in the Caring for Kids Community program.
F3
Automated Call Distribution: The current Automated Call Distribution telephone system at CAR was purchased in 1998 and has reached its end-of-life. Response: Agree with finding. Response to Recommendations
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Automated Call Distribution: SSA should ensure that the new phone system at CAR is operational by June 2007. Exhibit 2 Response: This recommendation has been implemented. Long before the Grand Jury issued its Report, a new Automated Call Distribution (ACD) phone system at the Child Abuse Registry (CAR) was purchased, was installed on June 7, 2007, and was fully operational on June 12, 2007. . . . . . Ę. . . . .
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.