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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
Orange County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
Changing of the Guardian: Life After Reorganization of the Public Administrator and Public Guardian
⚠️ 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 25 findings
F1
Page 240
The Public Guardian’s Office does not work with Human Resources to fill vacancies for permanent and temporary positions in a timely manner. This results in some tasks not being completed, as well as placing an additional workload on existing staff to ensure all conserved individuals receive mandated services.
F2
Page 240
Behavioral Health Services/Public Guardian leadership does not have a process in place to ensure managers and supervisors adhere to the Performance Incentive Plan (PIP) Manual standards for conducting quality performance appraisals.
F3
Page 240
The Public Guardian Policy 1.12, Performance Evaluation, provided to the Grand Jury, is not included in the current Public Guardian policy manual and therefore, the Public Guardian managers and supervisors lack clear direction on the elements of an effective performance evaluation.
F4
Page 240
The Public Guardian’s Office does not utilize the County of Orange Disciplinary Process Manual, which includes specific progressive steps of discipline to ensure mid-level managers and supervisors hold staff accountable. This has resulted in incidents of unprofessional staff conduct and inconsistent compliance with established protocols.
F5
Page 240
The Public Guardian’s Office has not ensured that all supervisors consistently follow established Policy 10.1 Supervisor Review of Cases to conduct quality reviews of deputy casework.
F6
Page 240
Health Care Agency/Behavioral Health Services has failed to fully organizationally integrate the Public Guardian function, resulting in a fragmented and isolated Public Guardian Office.
F7
Page 240
Some Health Care Agency/Behavioral Health Service/Public Guardian leadership staff do not effectively communicate with Public Guardian staff, resulting in mistrust, in-fighting, and low morale. REPORT 6 Changing of the Guardian: Life After the Reorganization of the PA and PG Offices 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury
F8
Page 241
The Public Guardian Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) supervisory unit operates as two independent groups serving the same purpose, resulting in ongoing office conflicts and interpersonal issues. Public Administrator Hiring Practices
F9
Page 241
The Office of the District Attorney/Public Administrator did not ensure that one candidate who was hired met minimum qualifications when filling Extra Help positions by not conducting an investigation of past employment or experience.
F10
Page 241
The District Attorney Human Resources Department does not have a process in place to verify that a candidate meets all minimum qualifications (MQs), nor do they verify employment history that qualifies candidates for a position in the District Attorney’s office.
F11
Page 241
The Office of the District Attorney/Public Administrator violated County Merit Selection Rules (MSR) when an employee was reassigned from one temporary position to another within the Public Administrator’s Office.
F12
Page 241
The Office of the District Attorney demonstrated questionable leadership when a newly hired temporary employee was promoted into a leadership position, resulting in the new hire managing the staff members who were still providing orientation training for the new hire.
F13
Page 241
The Public Administrator’s Office has no established mentorship training or leadership program in place for developing talented current employees. This has resulted in experienced Public Administrator employees being passed over for promotional and leadership opportunities. Case Management System (E-CMDS)
F14
Page 241
The E-CMDS case management system is antiquated, unreliable, does not have the ability to quickly and accurately cull reliable data, and does not meet the current business needs of the Public Administrator/Public Guardian deputies. Although there have been several attempts to replace the current E-CMDS, each has failed to produce tangible results.
F15
Page 241
The Public Administrator’s Office is considering pursuing the purchase of a case management system that will be completely separate from whatever case management system the Public Guardian pursues, which has the potential to result in fragmented communication and duplicative processes when cases are handed over from the Public Guardian to the Public Administrator. Training and Certification: REPORT 6 Changing of the Guardian: Life After the Reorganization of the PA and PG Offices 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury
F16
Page 242
The Public Guardian’s Office does not have a reliable system for tracking Public Guardian deputy training and membership status to ensure guardians maintain certification as stated in Probate Code.
F17
Page 242
The Public Guardian’s Office does not hold deputy staff accountable for adhering to Policy 1.01- Public Guardian Certification and Continuing Education. This has resulted in the majority of deputies being out of compliance with certification which could have negative consequences and/or impact their ability to best serve their clients.
F18
Page 242
The Public Guardian’s Office has not provided clear guidance or assistance to ensure deputies understand the financial reimbursement process, resulting in deputies not pursuing recertification. Policy & Procedure
F19
Page 242
The Public Guardian’s Office has worked diligently to update policies and procedures, however, some of the staff responsible for implementing these policies do not agree with some of the content, are not aware that they have been completed, and/or do not intend to comply with the policies.
F20
Page 242
The Public Guardian’s Office has not effectively communicated the expectation that deputy staff are required to adhere to updated Public Guardian policies.
F21
Page 242
Behavioral Health Services has a policy review structure in place. Although it is the intention to integrate the Public Guardian Office into Behavioral Health Services processes, two years have gone by without this integration occurring. Behavioral Health Services is not knowledgeable about Public Guardian processes and can only review Public Guardian specific policies for style and format compliance.
F22
Page 242
Public Guardian policies are not reviewed and revised on a regular basis and there is no clear system in place for distribution of new or revised policies.
F23
Page 242
The Public Guardian staff is expected to follow general Behavioral Health Services policies, which address over-arching expectations for all Behavioral Health Services staff. However, some Public Guardian staff do not feel like they are an integral part of the Behavioral Health Services culture and do not acknowledge that Behavioral Health Services policies are relevant to their job. The Public Guardian manual, which is the primary reference for deputies, does not include several policies that would be considered as staples for most organizations. Quality Assurance:
F24
Page 242
The Public Guardian’s Office has no internal Quality Assurance unit, and the department is not represented or included in Behavioral Health Services quality assurance activities REPORT 6 Changing of the Guardian: Life After the Reorganization of the PA and PG Offices 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury two years after the reorganization of the Public Guardian Office. The Public Guardian’s Office depends upon external audits to evaluate their performance.
F25
Page 243
The Public Guardian’s Office does not initiate any internal quality assurance activities to measure job performance, or adherence to Probate Codes and Best Practices to ensure excellent customer service.
Recommendations 24
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R1Page 243The Public Guardian’s Office should coordinate monthly meetings with Human Resources to discuss and take action on personnel needs, including anticipated short-term and actual vacancies, as well as opportunities for promotion to be initiated by December 31, 2016. (F.1)
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R2Page 243The Public Guardian’s Office should provide training to all managers and supervisors related to the expectations for and mechanics of writing Performance Appraisals. Upon completion of this training the Public Guardian should incorporate implementation and adherence into a Quality Assurance process to ensure compliance with expected standards all to be initiated by December 31, 2016. (F.2)
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R3Page 243The Public Guardian’s Office should re-evaluate Policy & Procedure 1.12 Performance Evaluations for potential inclusion into the current Public Guardian Policy Manual by December 31, 2016. (F.3)
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R4Page 243The Public Guardian’s Office should develop curricula and initiate training for all levels of Public Guardian staff regarding the Health Care Association’s mission and vision statement and the Health Care Association’s Code of Conduct, with emphasis on how these topics relate to the role of the Public Guardian and the need to follow established protocol, by December 31, 2016. (F.4)
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R5Page 243The Public Guardian’s Office should develop and initiate training for all managers and supervisors related to the County of Orange Disciplinary Manual by December 31, 2016. (F.4) REPORT 6 Changing of the Guardian: Life After the Reorganization of the PA and PG Offices 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury
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R6Page 244Senior Executive Public Guardian personnel should meet with managers and supervisors individually monthly to discuss and take action on disciplinary issues within the department with these meetings to be initiated by December 31, 2016. (F.4)
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R7Page 244The Public Guardian’s Office should implement a consistent process for objectively evaluating Public Guardian casework that includes a standardized audit form to objectively measure Public Guardian deputy performance with implementation to be initiated by December 31, 2016. (F.5)
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R8Page 244The Health Care Agency/Behavioral Health Services should have a management representative attend monthly Public Guardian staff meetings to directly communicate the Health Care Agency’s vision and mission, as well as to address any Public Guardian concerns with such meetings to be initiated by December 31, 2016. (F.6, F.7)
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R9Page 244The Public Guardian’s Office should ensure minutes from Public Guardian staff meetings are made available to all Public Guardian staff on the internal Public Guardian portal by December 31, 2016. (F.6, F.7)
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R10Page 244The Public Guardian’s Office should establish quarterly team meetings with Public Guardian staff, which should incorporate a positive recognition program, state of the business, and team building events with such meetings to be started by December 31, 2016. (F.6, F.7)
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R11Page 244The Public Guardian’s Office should have one supervisor directing a consolidated Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) team by December 31, 2016. (F.8)
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R12Page 244The District Attorney’s Office should coordinate with County Centralized Human Resources to develop and initiate training to ensure the District Attorney Human Resources Department complies with the Merit Selection Rules (MSR) for both temporary and permanent positions by December 31, 2016. (F.9, F.11)
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R13Page 244The District Attorney’s Office should instruct the District Attorney Human Resources Department to develop and implement a formal process for validating that candidates meet all minimum qualifications for any Public Administrator position advertised, as well as validating work experience relevant to any Public Administrator position advertised, regardless of whether the position is temporary or permanent with such process to be in place by December 31, 2016. (F.10)
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R14Page 244The District Attorney’s Office should develop a plan to implement a mentorship/leadership program for Public Administrator deputies by December 31, 2016. (F.13)
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R15Page 244The Public Administrator and Public Guardian Offices, in conjunction with the IT Project Manager, should meet with the County Executive Office (CEO) by December 31, 2016 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors the purchase of a new case management system REPORT 6 Changing of the Guardian: Life After the Reorganization of the PA and PG Offices 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury that will meet the business needs and interface with both the Public Administrator and Public Guardian deputy staff. (F.14)
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R16Page 245The Public Administrator and Public Guardian Offices should re-establish a steering committee, with a designated Project Manager, by December 31, 2016 to acquire a replacement case management system. (F.14, F.15)
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R17Page 245The Public Administrator and Public Guardian Offices should work together with the IT Project Manager to ensure the new case management system meets the Public Administrator and Public Guardian business needs through a comprehensive report function that can accurately track data and produce meaningful reports by June 30, 2017. (F.14)
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R18Page 245The Public Guardian Office should initiate a process to ensure Public Guardian training records coincide with the California Association of Public Administrators Public Guardians Public Conservators Association (CAPAPGPC) records, that deputies are current with their training and certification, and that consequences for not being in compliance are clearly communicated and addressed by December 31, 2016. (F.16, F.17)
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R19Page 245The Public Guardian Office should develop clear guidelines, with examples, for Public Guardian deputies to utilize when requesting reimbursement for training and membership dues. The Public Guardian Office should provide training on the guidelines and provide a designated manager to assist in the process by December 31, 2016. (F.18)
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R20Page 245The Public Guardian Office should develop a process to reimburse Public Guardian staff within 30 working days of submission for reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs for training and membership dues by December 31, 2016. (F.18)
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R21Page 245The Public Guardian Office should provide immediate training on all new and revised Public Guardian policies as well as Behavioral Health Services policies that pertain to Public Guardian staff. Training should include management expectations on adherence to policies, along with a question and answer period for deputies to express any concerns about the accuracy of policies or their ability to carry out the policies. The training should be implemented by December 31, 2016. (F.19, F.20)
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R22Page 245The Public Guardian Office should ensure Public Guardian policies are reviewed and revised on a regular basis, including solicitation of knowledgeable staff input to ensure accuracy. The assigned manager/supervisor should ensure communication of new or revised policies, as well as initiate documented Public Guardian staff training on new and revised policies to ensure understanding and compliance by December 31, 2016. (F.21, F.22)
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R23Page 245The Public Guardian Office should ensure that Behavioral Health Services policies that pertain to Public Guardian deputies are easily accessible to them by December 31, 2016. (F.23) REPORT 6 Changing of the Guardian: Life After the Reorganization of the PA and PG Offices 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury
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R24Page 246The Public Guardian Office should integrate a Public Guardian manager or supervisor into the Behavioral Health Services quality assurance structure, with a defined role of initiating quality assurance and risk management activities, including regularly conducted internal audits specific to the Public Guardian role by December 31, 2016. (F.24, F.25)
Agency Responses 1
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.