Children and Family Services

Social Workers rarely received a Supervisor’s field visit when contacting clients.

Social Workers’ caseloads currently exceed the recommended levels due to the growth in population, work force shortages and lack of supervision.

Not all Social Workers have received training or have knowledge in Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.

The CFS training is partially funded by funds administered by the Children’s Network for training and education under the CSEC’s bill. This training was difficult to understand.

Low morale was evident among the Social Workers and Supervisors interviewed.

There was a high turnover rate among Social Workers.

Work Performance Evaluation’s (WPE), are not always received in a timely manner. Many times, when received, they were poorly written, which can contribute to low morale.

In recent investigations involving CFS, there has been no inquiry or mention of an oversight committee to ensure they are held to task. RECOMMENDATIONS: 19-1: Mandate that CFS Supervisors monitor and offer assistance to Social Service Practitioners in the field as well as the office on a daily basis. 19-2: CFS continue to hire qualified social workers to keep up with attrition, or create a back to work temporary program for retired social workers to fill office and court positions and free up full time employees. 8 2018–2019 San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury – Children & Family Services 19-3: Require all foster parents, social workers, regardless of position, attend Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children training. 19-4: Given the low morale in CFS offices, it is imperative that upper management develop methods to motivate and create more positive interactions with line workers. 19-5: Additional training is necessary to enhance communication skills between Social Service Practitioners, their clients and management. 19-6: Management and Supervisors must be held accountable for the timely completion of employee evaluations and discuss it with the employee within 30 days of the evaluation’s due date. 19-7: The results of research, findings and observations by the Grand Jury leads to the conclusion that a complete reorganization of Children and Family Services is needed as indicated in the Deloitte Reorganization Project. 19-8: Appoint an independent oversight committee to offer objective viewpoints, opinions and recommendations. 19-9: It is necessary that Social Service Practitioners have training in CSEC because most will inevitably be faced with the task of meeting victims of Human Trafficking and possibly managing a case or cases for the victims of Human Trafficking. AGENCY RECOMMENDATIONS DUE DATE Children and Family Services 19-1 through 19-9 9/26/2019 SB County Board of Supervisors 19-7 and 19-8 8/27/2019 9 2018–2019 San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury – Children & Family Services