BACKGROUND

The Grand Jury received a complaint from the Superior Court concerning the manner in which the Santa Barbara Division (South County) of Child Protective Services (CPS) of the Department of Social Services has been approving and authorizing the payment of services requested by the case workers on behalf of their clients.

In addition to testimony and evidence received by the Grand Jury concerning the operations of the Santa Barbara CPS, there has been an awareness of public utterances and the response of the Department of Social Services to the 1989-90 Grand Jury report concerning that Department. Nevertheless, this Grand Jury investigation focused specifically on those issues which are current problems within the Department. No attempt was made to go over "old ground" covered by previous investigations.

The complaint contained the following allegations:

1. Denial of services to children and the non-payment for services ordered resulting in possible exposure of the County to substantial liability.

2. Reports of a working environment within the Division characterized by fear and intimidation.

3. Inadequate administrative support by upper management for the mandated functions of the Division.

INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURES

The Jury took testimony from attorneys representing children who were under the jurisdiction of the Child Protective Services Division, several of the case workers from that Division, each of the Unit Supervisors, the Division Chief, the Deputy Director and the Director of the Department of Social Services.

Members of the Grand Jury also conducted on-site inspections of the CPS offices in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria to review the in-place procedures used in the Division.

FINDINGS

A. The investigation found no pattern of denial of services to the children. However, it found that a number of problem areas exist in the Division which give rise to concerns about the continued effective delivery of services.

1. Currently, there does not exist a written set of procedures (Desk Top Guide) for use by the case workers in either the South County or North County Divisions of CPS. The training of newly hired staff would be accelerated by the availability of such a document. The lack of published detailed procedures has contributed to the practice of some staff members circumventing basic policies of the Department.

An effort to produce such a document was initiated within the past 18 months by the Division Chiefs in both North and South County. However, this initiative was transferred by senior management in the Department of Social Services to departmental program assistants. To date there is no evidence that the necessary procedures manuals are being developed nor has a deadline been set to accomplish this task.

2. While the Santa Barbara CPS Division has made some headway in developing a tracking system for its case files, the case workers continue to claim that at times it is difficult to determine the status of certain cases because of the inability to locate case records in the office. The computer currently in place in the Division, which has the capability, is not being fully utilized to provide for individual case tracking.

3. The Court has found it necessary to order services by the Santa Barbara CPS Division that range from provision of necessary care to payment for, services. While there were isolated instances of delay or denial of care, there was no pattern of denial or indifference to the children for whom CPS has responsibility.

B. The investigation discovered serious failures in the management of the Santa Barbara office of CPS.

1. In reviewing the operations of the Santa Barbara CPS Division, the Grand Jury was appalled by the degree of mutual distrust which exists between management and staff. Despite an "open door" policy, some of the line staff, most of whom have long tenure, view their managers as closed minded, dictatorial and intimidating. Managers view some staff as resistant to change, obstructive and

vindictive.

2. Reorganization of CPS has recently occurred. This was instituted in response to State mandates and in an effort to more evenly distribute cases in an ever increasing workload. The Deputy Director and the Director of Social Services have failed to provide adequate support and guidance to the relatively new Santa Barbara Division Chief during this major change. This failure to exercise necessary oversight or to take prompt corrective action when serious problems surfaced has contributed to the degree of disarray which exists in the Division.

C. Necessary administrative support to the operations of the Santa Barbara Office of CPS has not been forthcoming from the Department.

1. The Division has been authorized two full time clerical positions to support the work of the case workers. One of those positions has been vacant since May. Court reports must be made within specified times in accordance with State statutes. Management is aware that approximately 254k of such reports are not timely, thereby violating State law and causing expensive court delays.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Child Protective Services Divisions, as a priority measure, initiate development of internal procedures manuals, sometimes referred to as desk-top guides. The Department of Social Services provide the necessary staff support to complete this task expeditiously.

2. The Santa Barbara CPS complete automation of the case record system. At present, a stand alone computer is available in the Division which is being used to store some of the case record data. It is recommended that the Department of Social Services provide clerical support to the Child Protective Services Division specifically to complete the entry of the remaining case record data. This will make possible the tracking of all active cases within the Division with minimum cost to the Department.

3. The Santa Barbara CPS establish and enforce a regular schedule of case review meetings to examine open cases in order to preclude the need for Court mandating of child care services.

4. The Santa Barbara CPS conduct a series of Division workshops, with the full Participation of both staff and management designed to achieve the following specific objectives (outcomes):

a. Mutually redefine the CPS Service Objectives consistent with current statutory and budgetary realities.

b. Mutually define those Operational Procedures which are necessary within the Division to deliver the required services to children in the most cost effective and efficient manner.

5. The Director and Deputy Director (for CPS) of the Department of Social Services increase their management oversight of the Santa Barbara CPS. In addition, take immediate steps to correct the management deficiencies which exist in that organization by requiring the manager of that Division to:

a. Immediately develop workable procedures, with active staff input, to insure effective delivery of mandated services to children under their jurisdiction.

b. Provide regular written reports concerning the specific progress made, for that period, in development of current Division service objectives, operating procedures and the completion of a desk top guide for use by staff.

If management of that Division is unable to fulfill these requirements, initiate prompt action to provide a suitable replacement.

6. The Department of Social Services promptly fill the current vacant clerical position in the Santa Barbara CPS Division.

COMMENTS

In the course of this investigation, it became apparent to members of the Jury that no reasonable person could listen to the testimony given, review the evidence received and conclude that there are not serious problems in the Santa Barbara Office of CPS or that a "fine tuning" would correct this Division's problems. The hiring of a consultant as suggested by the Administrative Officer and the Director of Social Services would be a waste of time and money and delay necessary corrective action.

If the County Board of Supervisors intends to confront the challenges of changing mandates and reduced funding in this area, now is the time to initiate actions to address the core problems which exist within the Santa Barbara CPS.

The Grand Jury is confident that the above recommendations can be effectively pursued within current budgetary constraints. It also believes that if the identified problems are to be resolved, it will be necessary for the Department, in its response to this report, to indicate clearly not only the planned corrective actions but also specific time deadlines for their completion.