Social Workers Tell Board How to Make New DCFS Policy Successful

A group of social workers met with high level officials in Supervisor Gloria Molina’s office Monday, Aug. 3 to offer suggestions about how to implement departmental changes successfully. Supervisor Molina introduced a motion in response to multiple articles about DCFS in the Los Angeles Times. Social workers told Molina’s office that the motion, which is already being implemented in certain offices, can be successful with a few important changes.
1.    We demonstrated that the motion is already being implemented as DCFS policy inconsistently in the 17 offices. The Supervisor’s staff recognized this is not her intent and will lead to problems.
2.    We detailed Hub availability and agreed that the Hubs are critical for forensics, but only one VIP is open 24 hours. In order to use the Hubs effectively and
efficiently we need to increase hours of operation, locations and services provided to keep children safe.
3.    According to the motion, the ARA and the RA must now sign off on all unfounded cases. With hundreds of cases and many ARA vacancies, this will easily push referrals passed the 30-day  timeframe, necessitating another visit and increasing workload unnecessarily. In order to conduct a second round of audits, we suggested using all available resources including the QA unit.
4.    4. All ER workers have been notified of a new round of training. We reiterated we stand by our work and that we are committed professionals. We suggested
training be ongoing and department wide, not just ER.
Supervisor Molina’s staff appreciated our expertise and input and wants to continue meeting with us on improving the department. It will be up to us, however, to ensure the department implements the new policy with our recommendations. We will meet with DCFS Director Trish Ploehn next.
“No.1 we discussed we value the work of social workers and we stand by our work. The voice from the frontline must be included as we seek measures to assure the public children are safe.”
— David Green, Adoptions CSW