DATE: February 4, 1992
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FROM: Supervisor Susan Golding
SUBJECT: Child Protective Services Review Commission or Ombudsman
SUMMARY:
-
Issue:
Should the County establish an independent, ombudsman or commission for the purpose of receiving, and investigating complaints brought against Child Protective Services on an ongoing basis.
Recommendation:
SUPERVISOR GOLDING:
1. Direct the County Administrative Officer to establish an independent ombudsman or commission to investigate disputed Child Protective Service decisions that result in the separation of families.
2. Establish an employee review process when three or more legitimate complaints are initiated from separate individuals involving the same employee.
3. Establish better screening guidelines in determining legitimacy of anonymous referrals through the County Child Abuse Hot-line.
4. Return findings to the Board within 45 days.
After approximately three months of concentrated, in-depth contact with the public and private entities, it is my conclusion that there is an urgent and immediate need. to establish an ongoing, independent, commission or ombudsman to reexamine disputed cases within the Department of Child Protective Services.
In October I asked the Chief Administrative Officer to research the feasibility of appointing the Juvenile Justice commission as an oversight committee to CPS. Given the Juvenile Justice Commissioners current responsibilities this may or may not be the right choice. I believe that another commission (i.e., Commission
on Children & Youth) or separate task force could be used or a new one established, comprised of individuals not associated with Child Protective Services who would review complaints on an ongoing basis. An ombudsman position can be accomplished in several ways. An existing position can be utilized by redefining a current position and having him/her report directly to the Board of Supervisors.
I am pleased to hear that an Ombudsman has been hired by Child Protective Services. However, I feel that this person will be reporting to the Director of Child Protective Services and therefore not solely independent. We must do more to ensure the confidence and trust of the public. We must ensure that decisions resulting in the separation of families, that are legitimately questioned, have a way to be independently examined.
Secondly, I believe the County has many fine employees who care deeply about the welfare of children, but there are obvious problems. Employee review in instances where a single employee is involved or connected with an inordinate number of disputed cases should be scrutinized. There must he a process that triggers an immediate investigation after three or more separate complaints involving a single employee.
It is disturbing that no one is able to say how many accusations of sexual and physical abuse of children are incorrect. National authorities have estimated that erroneous diagnoses of child abuse are made in five to ten percent of cases. Even our local experts agree the five percent figure may be a reasonable estimate. We must work harder to decrease this figure. The injury and devastation these mistakes have on the family unit is unacceptable.
Over the past three months I have seen too much evidence that false accusations of child abuse and neglect may being used as harassment. Often this is where the problem originates. Sometimes this occurs in custody disputes, through our conciliatory process. Neighbor against neighbor". Foster parents against parents. The scenarios are numerous -- some quite complex. These false accusations are flooding the already over burdened hot-line system. I believe that anonymous reporting ought to be reviewed and reexamined closely. This would lessen the chance of individuals using it to harass and falsely accuse for personal reasons. Anonymous reporting was designed to encourage citizens to report true incidents of abuse and neglect without getting personally involved. But, like many other ideas that originally arose from a critical necessity, there is need for reform.
There is a County Grand Jury investigation of Child Protective Services underway. However, the need for action now is obvious. I do not need to wait for those findings to determine there is a need to establish an independent commission or ombudsman for both the protection of the County and it's citizens.
Several years ago I requested an investigation into allegations the County was not doing enough to protect our children from abuse and neglect. Removing a child from his/her home when it isn't necessary is also a form of abuse. In some instances the County may be going too far in the name of intervention.
The problems with the system are complex and often involve multiple jurisdictions. There are no easy answers. But, we aust begin the immediate task of reevaluation.
We must reemphasize our commitment to Family Preservation. Our goal of providing intensive comprehensive services designed to eliminate the need to remove children from their own homes, and to expedite the return of foster children to their own homes, is being compromised if we continue to allow errors to go unchecked.
There is absolutely nothing worse than a child abuser....and there is also nothing worse than an arbitrary, system gone awry. It is not my intent to protect or provide a means of protection for child abuse and neglect. But, I cannot stand by while even one family is unjustly destroyed in an effort to save them.
