Butte County Grand Jury Report Butte County Children's Services*

Contracted support services such as counseling and parent support groups are reportedly not available to non-English speaking parents. When needed, an interpreter can be hired, but funds for that are limited. Counseling for non- English speaking children is available through Behavioral Health.

Despite the efforts made for effective communication in BCCS, there is some sense of disconnect between NCCS and SCCS. Communication and consistency are hindered by program division and geographic distance. Notifications of court policy changes have sometimes not been communicated to NCCS in a timely manner.

Staff report that NCCS is in need of more access to attorney services. Clerical support to Children's Services is sometimes complicated by a multi-

program chain of command.

To promote cross training, DESS receptionists are rotated to various divisions including SCCS. In the case of SCCS, receptionist rotation is detrimental. SCCS is a busy reception area, the Children's Services program is complex, and the clients are often dealing with highly emotional issues.

NCCS needs better access to interview rooms to provide confidential places to meet with families and children. In SCCS, there is a covered outdoor play area used for supervised visitation that is

in need of a way to address oppressive heat in the summer months.

Social Workers spend over two thirds of their time in data entry and report work using the statewide Children's Welfare Service database (CWS). The amount of mandated information has increased dramatically in the last five years. This has made it difficult for Social Workers to keep up with their caseloads.

Due to the lack of authorized funds for overtime pay unless it is an emergency, some employees are reportedly working overtime without pay in order to meet deadlines.

Drug use in Butte County is a concern. Children's Services participates in the Methamphetamine Task Force and also partners with Drug Court. They also provide specialized training for foster parents of drug-addicted children. (OFR- Options for Recovery). However, the use of medical marijuana by parents conflicts with the Children's Services policy of a drug-free environment for children. There is abuse of "medical marijuana" prescriptions and it is often found to be one of many drugs in use. There is not a consistent policy in place to respond to this difficult dilemma. Although there are several drug rehabilitation programs available in Butte County

for women, there are limited options for men.