Shasta County Grand Jury Investigative Reports – 2014-2015

Recommendations 9

• R1

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  The COR shall conduct a forensic audit of SRSA’s financial records between 2007 and 2014
• R2

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  The COR shall develop by October 1, 2015 a strategy to replace the turf that is not dependent on pending litigation or the current Soccer Park Lease dated September 26, 2012.
• R3

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  The COR shall establish a viable business plan for the soccer park that would provide a sustainable operation
• R4

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  The COR shall provide accurate accounting to the City Council and the public annually by August 15 of each year for compliance with the fiscal Soccer Park Lease terms. Required Response Redding City Council as to: F2, F3, F4 and R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 Requested Response Redding City Manager as to: F1, F5, and R4 12 METHAMPHETAMINE AND HEROIN PLAGUE SHASTA COUNTY LIFE A “Trip” You Never Want To Take
• R5

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  The Grand Jury recommends that , the Health and Human Services Agency continue to search and apply for grant funds to expand its mobile crisis unit.
• R6

  Page 28
  The Grand Jury recommends that within one year, the Shasta County Housing Authority, Redding Housing Department, and Health and Human Services Agency partner to develop a plan for funding and staffing one or more teen shelters to offer emergency services to teens in crisis. Non-profit organizations such as One Safe Place and CAPCC should be invited to participate in this plan.
• R70

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  California a 60 51.5 51 50.7 51.7 51.6 53.1 52.7 Allegations t California 50 Substantiations e Shasta Allegations s 40 30 24.5 Shasta 20 20.7 19.1 21.8 19 Substantiations 16.3 20 11.2 10.2 10 9.6 9.5 9.3 9.2 10 California Child Welfare Indicators Project 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 The most recent juvenile court petition data showed that 88% of children removed from their families were in households where one or both parents have substance abuse issues. There is a lack of facilities for children with acute mental illness or suicidal tendencies. It is Difficult to Recruit and Retain Social Workers Social workers have a difficult and demanding job. They work with children and families and deal with traumatic, disturbing and potentially dangerous situations. They must follow state- mandated deadlines, manage high caseloads, work with resistant and often angry parents and family members, and effectively use limited resources available. Social workers in Shasta County make less than the average salary for social workers in California. Senior social workers require both a Master’s Degree in Social Work and experience and are often difficult to find. High vacancy rates and large caseloads are a factor in social worker burn out, making it hard to retain social workers. Children’s Services Branch has been understaffed for a long time. Social worker positions have remained vacant year after year. There is a limited pool of qualified candidates and as the economic situation has improved in the state, Shasta County has continued to have difficulty recruiting to fill vacant positions as other counties compete for workers. Often, entry level social workers leave Shasta County after two or three years for higher salaried positions elsewhere in the state. The situation has improved in the last year for two reasons: • The hiring process changed in 2014 from a state-wide system to an in-county system resulting in more local applicants; • A recently introduced program called “Grow Your Own” is showing positive results in developing Senior Social Workers. Social workers are offered extended learning opportunities through California State Universities and loan forgiveness to acquire a Master’s Degree. This improves recruitment and retention of local applicants by providing educational incentives and promotions to attract them. In October of 2014, 17 out of 75 social worker positions were vacant. Nine probationary social workers were hired in January of 2015. However, according to the department’s January 2015 self-assessment, the local hiring process remains slow and limits Children’s Services Branch’s ability to fill vacancies in a timely manner. As of February 2015, there were still more than six vacancies in Children’s Services Branch, and the nine newly hired workers are still in their probationary period Immediate Response to Allegations of Child Abuse The top priority of intake social workers is to respond to allegations of child abuse immediately and determine necessary steps to ensure the child’s safety. Intake caseloads have averaged eighteen new cases a month in addition to ongoing cases. In spite of these high caseloads, the department has been effective in responding to urgent critical situations in a timely fashion. A dilemma exists when the on-call social worker has temporary custody of a child in need of placement after normal work hours. This creates an unsafe situation which can be a liability for the county. One person cannot supervise a child in crisis and find an emergency placement at the same time. HHSA Children’s Services policy states that no worker is allowed alone in the office with a client; however, there is an exception to this policy. When a social worker takes temporary custody of a child/youth after hours, they may take the child to the office while arranging for a second worker to come to help attend to the child. Although there is a pool of workers on standby, arranging for a second worker to come to the office can take some time. Even when two workers are at the office with a child in an emergency, a placement may not be found and the child may remain in the office under supervision for up to two days. Teenagers, in particular, are difficult to place. This is a county-wide problem. A limited number of foster homes accept emergency placements of teenagers on a temporary basis. There is no teen shelter in Shasta County to provide temporary, transitional housing and crisis services for teenagers. One Safe Place has occasionally helped to house teenagers, and there may be an opportunity to formalize this relationship in the future. Some cities in California fund transitional housing facilities by building partnerships between city and county departments, 23 non-profit agencies and local law enforcement. Examples of these centers that operate in Northern California are the Sixth Street Center for Youth in Chico, WIND Youth Services in Sacramento, and the Bill Wilson Youth Center in Santa Clara. Finding Foster Placements or Re-unifying Families Ongoing social workers must find placements for children, visit each child at least once a month, assist the child and family as they navigate the court system, connect families to resources, and write reports about how each case is proceeding. In Shasta County the average caseload has been consistently higher than thirty cases per social worker, sometimes reaching thirty-nine or forty per social worker. These large caseloads also make it difficult for social workers to provide the depth of oversight children need in foster care or when returned to their own families. Shasta County’s ability to put children in permanent homes has fallen sharply in the last two years. Shasta County has only been able to place 76% of children needing permanent placement within three years compared to a state-wide average of 86%. Although there are several reasons for this, including a constant need for more foster parents, one contributing factor is insufficient staffing. Children’s Services Branch is not meeting the timelines for finding permanent placements for children who are removed from their parents or guardians. A Team Approach Grand Jury interviews indicated that a team approach has increased morale and efficiency. There are daily and weekly team meetings to discuss cases and direct appropriate resources toward the child and the family. Consistent interdepartmental collaboration and resource sharing occurs. This team includes social workers and representatives from Shasta County Office of Education, Shasta County Alcohol and Drug Department, law enforcement, public health, or non-profit organizations (i.e. CAPCC, One Safe Place) 24 Family Resources Shasta County has many quality programs available to help parents and foster parents. • The HHSA website includes links to many parenting programs and resources. • Shasta County works in partnership with the Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council (CAPCC) to provide Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) and Safe Care, an in- home training program to improve the home environment. • Currently, CAPCC oversees nine paid parent partners who work with social workers to provide parenting education to parents who are struggling and to connect families with necessary services. • Shasta College’s Foster Care education program offers classes to train and support foster/adoptive parents. • Parent Leaders participate in a program designed to assist parents who have had their children removed from their homes. Parents who have been through the entire process themselves and were successful in reunification serve as mentors, providing moral support and information about available resources. • Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency has an outpatient program that offers substance abuse treatment to women who are pregnant or have young children. One resource lacking in Shasta County is rehabilitation housing for parents who need to be sober and drug free in order to provide a safe home for their children. Although there are some options for mothers and children, these are limited. Children’s Mental Health We have many children in crisis in this county. The average rate of suicide attempts over the last five years by children or youth under 25 in Shasta County is more than double that of California as a whole. The Children’s Services Branch mental health staff includes licensed clinicians and interns. It is has been difficult to hire a child psychiatrist for Children’s Services Branch. Children’s Services Branch contracts out of area psychiatrists to meet with patients through video conferencing. Medi-Cal eligible children with ongoing mental health needs, who are not in immediate crisis, are referred to one of three contract providers: • Remi Vista Youth and Family Services; • North Valley Catholic Social Services; • Victor Community Support Services. Children in immediate crisis are screened by a therapist. If a severe risk exists, the child must be medically evaluated at an emergency room, and may be sent to a psychiatric lock-down facility. There are no psychiatric inpatient beds available for children in Shasta County. Therefore, children who are identified as a danger to themselves or others must be placed in facilities outside of the county. Sometimes it is difficult to find placements for these children as resources are limited. The child must be kept in a hospital emergency room until a placement is found. Sometimes this can take several days. An already traumatic situation is made even worse for the child and the family, and emergency room resources are strained. Although costs are similar whether a child is placed in a local facility or one out of the county, there is a slightly higher cost 25 due to the need to transport clients long distances. If there were local facilities available for children, not only would it cost less, but it would benefit the child, the family and the community. HHSA has encouraged the county to contract with local facilities to provide beds for children in crisis, but has not yet been successful. Shasta County Children Sent to Psychiatric Hospital Facilities 80 69 66 70 60 52 54 50 41 40 30 20 10 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Shasta County HHSA Need for a Mobile Crisis Response Unit Data 20102014 Shasta County is a large geographic area covering 3,847 square miles. Mental health patients in some of the more distant parts of the county have to travel long distances for services. Patients in crisis must be transported to hospital emergency rooms for medical evaluations. Mobile devices to assist social workers and mental health clinicians in the field would help, but confidentiality and technical issues make this difficult. When individuals experience a mental health crisis, cooperative efforts are needed between law enforcement agencies, hospital and emergency room staff and community mental health workers. While there are crisis response teams in place in Shasta County to provide this cooperation, these teams are limited and are not available 24/7. There is a need for an expanded mobile crisis unit, but the competitive state grant that the department applied for in 2013 was not awarded. Mental Health Outreach Programs The Shasta County Suicide Prevention Workgroup was created as one of several prevention programs required by the MHSA. This group meets monthly to plan and coordinate programs and events for the purpose of increasing community awareness of suicide, its stigma and efforts to prevent it. One program is called Brave Faces. Representatives with personal experience with suicide or mental illness speak to community organizations, youth groups and schools about their stories. Brave Faces also posts videos of some of the stories on the Shasta County Stand Against Stigma website and on the Suicide Prevention Facebook page. Brave Faces photographs are posted around the community and in RABA buses. Funding Challenges and Trends Passage of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) in 2004 helped create additional funds for mental health services. There are specific regulations and limitations on how this funding is to be used. This resulted in a reorganization of the department which took time to plan. The economic recession put a large strain on all Shasta County resources, making it difficult to fully implement some of the new programs. In particular, the recession made it difficult to increase workers’ salaries. Funds available for both mental health and child welfare are expected to grow as the economy continues to improve and as the state budget realignment directs more money toward these programs. According to the 2013 Audit Report for Shasta County, there will be growth in funding for child welfare programs. FINDINGS F1. The job of a children’s social worker is a difficult and demanding one, and Shasta County’s lower than state average pay, and higher than state average caseload add to this pressure. This increases the challenge of recruiting and retaining qualified social workers. F2. The short-staffing of the Children’s Services Branch, combined with Shasta County's high level of substantiated child abuse and neglect cases, has reduced the Children’s Services Branch’s ability to find permanent placements in a timely fashion for children who need them. Shasta County has only been able to place 76% (down from 83% in 2012) of children needing permanent placement within three years compared to a state-wide average of 86%. F3. Social workers and children are put in unsafe situations because of the after- hours oversight of children taken into temporary custody. Children’s Services Branch policy allows a social worker to take temporary custody of children from law enforcement and remain in the office before another on-call worker is available. F4. There is a need for an expanded mobile response unit with personnel who can access critical health information and screen patients to serve the extensive rural areas. It would reduce the strain on law enforcement and emergency rooms. F5. The lack of local inpatient psychiatric beds for children strains emergency room resources and causes stress to children in crisis and to their families. F6. The lack of a temporary teen shelter has put an undue burden on the Children’s Services Branch. F7. Community partnerships with organizations such as One Safe Place, the Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council, and First Five have resulted in quality parental support and education resources. The Brave Faces program and the Parent Leadership Advisory Group in particular should be commended for their efforts. F8. Branch directors, clinicians and social workers work with each other and with other agencies as an effective team to deal with children and families in crisis. This team approach has had a positive effect on the morale of the staff and effectiveness of the department. RECOMMENDATIONS R1. The Grand Jury recommends that , Shasta County Personnel Services work with HHSA to develop an ongoing strategy to aggressively recruit and fill social worker vacancies. The “Grow Your Own” Program should continue to be fully supported as part of this process. R2. The Grand Jury recommends that as Child Welfare funding is expected to increase in the next year, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors look for opportunities to increase the social workers’ compensation package. R3. The Grand Jury recommends that , the Health and Human Services Agency revise its policy to ensure that on-call social workers have immediate access to a second social worker or family worker when dealing with crisis situations after hours so that two people are in the office and the situation is safe for both workers and children. R4. The Grand Jury recommends that , the Shasta County Board of Supervisors develop a strategy to contract with a local provider for inpatient psychiatric beds for children. R5. The Grand Jury recommends that , the Health and Human Services Agency continue to search and apply for grant funds to expand its mobile crisis unit. R6. The Grand Jury recommends that within one year, the Shasta County Housing Authority, Redding Housing Department, and Health and Human Services Agency partner to develop a plan for funding and staffing one or more teen shelters to offer emergency services to teens in crisis. Non-profit organizations such as One Safe Place and CAPCC should be invited to participate in this plan. REQUEST FOR RESPONSES Pursuant to Penal Code section 933.05, the grand jury requests responses as follows: From the following governing bodies: • Shasta County Board of Supervisors as to F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6 • Redding City Council as to F6, R6 INVITED RESPONSES Type titles of individuals here and list the findings and recommendations (by number) that each individual is invited to respond to. 28 • Director of Shasta County Personnel Services as to F1, R1,R2 • Director of Health and Human Services Agency as to F1, F2,F3, F4, F5, F6, R1,R2,R3,R4, R5 • Redding Housing Manager as to F6, R6 29 After School Programs Keep Kids Safe, Involved and Out of Trouble SUMMARY Poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse are increasing in Shasta County. Our children are the most vulnerable. As our community explores possible solutions to these complex issues, we need to look to the future and break the cycle of dysfunction for the next generation. Improving the lives of children will have long-term positive effects. Many children have few resources and difficult home situations. At-risk children need more opportunities for connection with caring adults, help with homework, and safe, stimulating activities. After school programs provide these. This concern prompted the Grand Jury to investigate the availability and accessibility of after school programs. Major university studies show that well-implemented, dynamic after school programs have a positive impact on disadvantaged children. There is evidence that these programs not only provide a safe place for children, but also reduce juvenile crime and improve students’ academic performance. Constructive after school activities can transform the prime time for juvenile crime -- between 3:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. -- into a time of opportunity and promise. The Grand Jury took a close look at three programs: Shasta County Office of Education’s Project SHARE, the Redding School District’s after school program, and the Anderson Teen Center. We found many examples of excellent programs and dedicated staff at the program sites we visited. Some community members have partnered with schools to sponsor and support these programs. We did find, however, that opportunities for partnership may not be as actively developed as they might be. We found that there are barriers to access for disadvantaged children because of limited space and waiting lists. We also found that in most areas of the county, disadvantaged teens lack access to any form of formal after school program or activities. This report makes recommendations regarding recruitment policies, advertising staff positions, creating community partnerships and exploring opportunities for establishing a teen outreach program for Redding. BACKGROUND Most school districts in Shasta County have some form of after school program. In 2002 California passed Proposition 49 which provided guaranteed funding for before and after school programs to provide tutoring, homework assistance and educational enrichment. Schools with mainly low-income students were to be given priority for this additional funding. School districts in Shasta County applied early for state grants and we have many schools that qualified for funding. California’s program is called the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program. The program encourages collaboration between the schools and community partners such as law enforcement, parks and recreation departments, community-based organizations and the private sector. Priority for grants went to schools with over 50% economically disadvantaged children – those eligible for free and reduced priced lunch. Over half of all school children in Shasta County meet this requirement. The ASES grant funds after school programs for three hours at $7.50 per student per day. Funding from the state is based on attendance in the after school program. The ASES grant funds a maximum of 84 students per school. Programs can support more students through partnerships with schools and other organizations. In addition to the ASES K-8 state grant, there are federally funded grants called 21st Century Community Learning Grants which can also be used for high school programs. The California Department of Education provides After School Regional Leads to offer advice and training to after school programs funded by these grants.
• R30-34

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  2 5 4 3 5 35-39 1 5 2 40-44 0
• R60-64

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  1 *Only for first 6 months Source of Charts: Record Searchlight Effect of Drugs on Children and Families: Meth and heroin abuse is destructive to families and community, especially to children. Drug use tears apart the social fabric of families and communities. Education is usually not a priority in these families, which leads to truancy and school drop-outs. Consequently, the ability to acquire life and social skills is diminished for children who grow up exposed to drug abuse and related domestic violence within their family. Infants, exposed to drugs before birth, are often immediately placed into protective custody and taken into foster care. These children also often experience developmental delay and behavioral problems. For example, 88% of children placed in foster care are removed from drug abusing families. These children often need long term specialized medical care and psychological treatment. Also, many years of rehabilitation and treatment may be required for the entire family. 16