Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2024-2025
• Agency Response
Best Interest of a Child – Report on Child Protective Services Perception Is Reality
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
Page 7
It is hard to contact the relevant people in CPS to get information since there is no organizational chart published on the website. People don’t know who they can contact for specific issues. Report on Child Protective Services published June 17, 2024
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Page 8
The lack of readily available CPS data metrics accessible on the Santa Cruz County website can lead to perceptions based on individual experiences. Perception becomes reality if data is not provided which can lead to public distrust of the system.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Page 8
Lots of data is available on the California Welfare Indicators Project maintained by University of California for the whole state of California for each county. It is hard to sift through and find relevant data for Santa Cruz County.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
Page 8
There is no formal complaint process. You can lodge a complaint only with your social worker. When the complainant is not happy with the resolution, complaints are lodged with the Grand Jury. This is ineffective and results in a lack of accountability or follow up on the complaint.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Page 8
Child Family Team members often dispute the accuracy of "official" meeting notes taken by the attending CPS Social Workers, leading to lack of trust between team members.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Page 8
The lack of data makes it difficult to determine whether bias is present either to Resource Families or Birth Families to the detriment of the child.
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 1
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CL1 Page 7This investigation was undertaken as a result of complaints received by the Grand Jury. Complainants believed that CPS policies regarding child safety were not being followed. The investigation was hampered by data that was largely insufficient or unobtainable. This results in Resource Families' perception that child safety is not being prioritized. The Grand Jury was not able to substantiate this claim based on the available data reviewed. The Grand Jury remains concerned that this perception will persist unless there is more transparency of both data and operations. This perception may prevent a sufficient number of Resource Families from signing up to provide this valuable service which is critical for the protection of neglected and abused children in our community.