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⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 19 findings
F1
Close contact with supervisors is an essential feature of social work during the initial phase of decision-making. Although social workers will always hear back from a supervisor, sometimes the response takes time, which leads to frustration and distraction for the social worker.
F2
In an urgent situation, a delay in response time for a social worker potentially places a child at further risk.
F3
The Structured Decision-Making tool is a useful guide to screeners in their information- gathering and decision-making as they process an incoming report. Investigators are less clear about how SDM benefits their work.
F4
Decisions made by social workers are driven by the information they have access to about a particular case. In the rare case of a child with no background or history available through routinely consulted resources, social workers must base their decisions on their own experienced judgment, the SDM framework and other evidence-based tools, and consultations with peers and Supervisors.
F5
Social workers responding to urgent situations in rural and/or rough-terrain areas of the County need reliable means of contacting their supervisors and the Children‟s Services offices.
F6
Social workers responding to urgent situations in rural and/or rough-terrain areas of the County need reliable means of transportation for themselves and any children they may need to transport.
F7
Food served in the jail meets federal nutrition guidelines.
F8
Inmates do not always have access to the telephone numbers stored in their cell phone once they have been booked into the jail.
F9
The current jail handbook is being revised.
F10
The ventilation system in the women‟s facility does not operate properly, causing an uncomfortable draft. This ongoing issue has remained unresolved by county maintenance staff for several years.
F11
Some jail security systems are in the process of being upgraded.
F12
On February 8, 2011, the Butte County Board of Supervisors approved the “Butte County Library Strategic Long Range Plan”.
F13
Emails have been used by Gridley City Council members to discuss pending agenda items outside the public arena, which limits City residents‟ participation in the governing process, and may violate the Brown Act.
F14
The City of Gridley Energy Commissioner position has never been a paid position, other than when held by the former Council member who was appointed to the position in 2000.
F15
The City of Gridley paid the Energy Commissioner from 2000 to 2009, even though the contract which was signed in 2000 expired in 2003. 57
F16
The former Energy Commissioner appointed in 2000 to represent the City of Gridley with NCPA was paid $526,369.00 out of Gridley taxpayer funds. Gridley Project grant funds paid an additional $438,580.00 for services related to the Gridley Project. The total Energy Commissioner payments over a nine year period amounted to $964,949.00.
F17
The City of Gridley has been pursuing the biomass project since 1994 and so far the project has proven non-feasible. At least one Gridley City Council member continues to advocate for the project.
F18
The DOE terminated funding for the Gridley Project in 2010.
F19
Positive changes have been made to address some of the past practices that created problems within the Gridley community.
Recommendations 10
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R1Assess the timeliness of supervisor contact with social workers, to ensure that delays in supervisor response do not compromise the social workers‟ ability to perform their work 8 with appropriate urgency. If it is determined that there are unacceptable and avoidable delays in supervisor responses, develop a plan to resolve the problem.
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R2Evaluate how SDM is used by all social workers within Children‟s Services, and the ways that this protocol benefits their work. Data and conclusions should be shared with all personnel.
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R3Provide social workers with reliable means of contact with supervisors and Children‟s Services offices, especially in rural or rough-terrain areas of the County.
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R4Provide access to reliable and sufficient means of transportation that are suitable for Children‟s Services‟ work in the entire County, including rural or rough-terrain areas.
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R5Perform an independent audit of the Inmate Welfare Fund and provide an audit report and transparent financial statements which include an itemized cost per unit analysis.
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R6Continue to offer the kitchen training program.
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R7Develop a policy regarding retrieval of telephone numbers from inmate cell phones at the time of booking.
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R8Employ an independent firm to audit and investigate whether any Gridley City officials made decisions or took actions that would constitute a conflict of interest. Make the results of this audit and investigation available to the public. 58
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R9Create and document an internal audit committee (one person from each department) to audit and ensure that the Gridley City‟s policies and procedures are practiced and performed as written and executed correctly. Make audit reports from this oversight available to the public.
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R20-25minutes for information to be transmitted from Oroville Intake to an IR worker in Chico, and the situation is in Magalia, more than a half-hour‟s drive away, it could be an hour before the social worker arrives. In addition, in rural locations social workers may still need to consult with their supervisors to determine the best plan for a child, so it is imperative that they have a reliable method of contacting the Oroville and Chico offices. Children‟s Services furnishes cell phones to all social workers. Those cell phones have speaker phone capability, but no blue tooth, head phone set, or other hands-free equipment are currently provided. Finally, rural areas may present challenges to a social worker who is using a county vehicle. Some social workers may not own four-wheel drive vehicles of their own, especially ones that are capable of safely transporting multiple children if needed. Children‟s Services currently has only one four-wheel drive vehicle that social workers can use. The program is working with the County to secure funding to purchase new vehicles, but the standard vehicle allowance may not suffice since the program needs vehicles with four-wheel drive and with the capacity to transport several children at a time.
Conclusions 9
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CL1 Page 32The Grand Jury was impressed with the compassion and expertise of Children‟s Services personnel and with their commitment to using and refining “best practices” to ensure their ability to adequately protect children from abuse or neglect. Children‟s Services is working well, though some aspects of their procedures or resources could be fine-tuned to enhance their service to at-risk children within our communities. All social workers and management personnel interviewed expressed strong commitment to the mission of their program.
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CL2 Page 40The Butte County Grand Jury conducted its annual site visit and inspection of the Butte County Jail. The review covered many areas of jail operations, policies and procedures. Areas of 16 concern are the condition of the women‟s facility ventilation system in particular and a lack of educational programs such as a formal GED program. In addition, the Grand Jury would like to see an updated handbook for inmates and an upgraded security system. The Grand Jury recognizes the high level of service and commitment displayed by the staff of the Butte County Jail.
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CL3 Page 47The Grand Jury concludes that the Probation Department, Juvenile Hall administration and staff, and the Boys and Girls Club have established an excellent partnership in working to improve the lives of youth who pass through Juvenile Hall. This work helps these youth to become productive members of society. This program is one of only two in the State of California and one of thirteen in the United States and has proven to provide a benefit to youth. The benefits to our community come through significant financial savings through reducing the number of detainees as well as improvement in the lives of these youth who can go on to be productive members in society. It is the desire of the Grand Jury to see this partnership continue as it makes a difference in the lives of youth and families in our community.
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CL4 Page 52The Grand Jury greatly appreciates the service provided by our public library. The BC Library has made significant changes that improve both efficiency and service to the public. The materials and fee collection system has allowed much greater recovery of overdue materials – meaning more items on the shelves – and has resulted in few complaints from library patrons. The new processes for cataloging books and materials allow for more efficient use of library staff time. The BC Library could not achieve its current level of excellent public service without the contributions of the community, support groups, and the Butte County Board of Supervisors. Although there is still room for improvement, the Grand Jury concludes that the BC Library has weathered the current financial storm extremely well thus far. The Grand Jury recognizes the funding challenges the county currently faces, but nonetheless urges the Board of Supervisors to give library funding a high priority because so many community members benefit from its public service. The 2010-2011 Grand Jury appreciates the Butte County Library Director and staff for their successful efforts to maximize efficiency and service to our communities.
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CL5 Page 58The Grand Jury found the BCMVCD, first and foremost, to be dedicated to its mission of mosquito and vector control. Beyond this it found that the BCMVCD operates with careful regard for environmental protection, public safety, and governmental requirements, and management displays sensitivity to community concerns. Previously there had been serious problems with staff morale at the BCMVCD, as mentioned in the 2007-2008 Grand Jury report. This was acknowledged by every person interviewed, yet each one also acknowledged that the situation had improved dramatically under the current management. Poor employee morale can be expensive, leading to problems ranging from inefficient work behavior to litigation expenses. The Grand Jury commends the current management for its successful efforts in improving morale.
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CL6 Page 63Based on its review of Fleet Services and the documentation provided by the County, the Grand Jury concludes that the County should explore centralization and/or consolidation of the County‟s vehicle fleet under the authority of a single department which would be given full authority to implement a replacement-depreciation schedule and to establish guidelines for the retirement of vehicles. The Grand Jury concludes that Fleet Services currently performs some of this work and may be the department of choice for this new authority.
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CL7 Page 67The BINTF South facility appears to be well-constructed and suited for its purpose of securing sensitive material. The Grand Jury concludes that BINTF South is committed to keeping Butte County safe.
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CL8 Page 80At the end of seventeen years of research and development for the Gridley Project, it has not been demonstrated that rice straw alone can be used successfully to produce a biofuel as an alternative energy source. At least one member of the Gridley City Council is continuing to push a biofuel/rice straw Gridley Project, while other Council members are pursuing solar energy. The Grand Jury finds that this was a research and development project that was not guaranteed to be successful. However, City residents believed the project would result in lower electric rates for City residents, a biofuel plant being built, jobs and additional revenue for the City. Record keeping was slipshod. Records were difficult to locate or missing. Audits were not conducted in a timely manner. It appears to the Grand Jury that conflicts may exist regarding the Gridley Project. City Council meetings are sometimes contentious and alienate the public. Some citizens have reasonable concerns that emails may have been used to build consensus in violation of the Brown Act. Based on these concerns and issues the Gridley City Council has damaged the public‟s trust. This has led to animosity between the residents and the City Council as well as among Council members. Citizen involvement in City of Gridley proceedings would create more public understanding of the day-to-day operations. The Grand Jury feels that many significant changes have occurred to improve the City of Gridley with the new City Administrator. However, many changes still need to be made.
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CL9 Page 86The Grand Jury believes that high ethical standards in local government are critical to maintaining the public's confidence. Though this is always the case, the need for such trust is seldom felt as strongly as it is during times of great financial hardship. Through its survey process, the Grand Jury found that several districts, when first contacted, were not in compliance with the required ethics training. The Grand Jury's action brought this to the attention of these districts, and it hopes this report will serve as a reminder for other county agencies to review their records to ensure that they, too, are in compliance with the law. The Grand Jury also recognizes the value to the community of the requirement that ethics training certificates be subject to the California Public Records Act, and would like to encourage private citizens to take it upon themselves to check that their local government officials are current in their training. The Grand Jury thanks the special districts for responding to its survey and commends those who have complied with the ethics training requirements of AB 1234. 62
Commendations 1
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CM1 Page 47The 2010-2011 Butte County Grand Jury commends the Probation Department, Butte County Juvenile Hall Superintendent and staff, and the Boys and Girls Club for the innovative and effective partnership and the difference it makes in the lives of youth offenders in our community. This program should serve as a model to other juvenile hall facilities not only as a cost effective tool in changing lives, but also as a method of improving communities, through alternative approaches.
No Responses Found 3
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.