Social workers are sounding the alarm. In today’s Los Angeles Times there is a front-page article about the backlog in emergency response cases.
You can read the article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dcfs-backlog-20101103,0,2482244.story
In the article the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office acknowledges that some department policies are “‘duplicative or contradictory,’ making it difficult for social workers to comply.”
The article also gives rank and file social workers credit for trying to reform the system: SEIU 721 “was one of the first entities to raise the alarm about the backlog in a March letter to Ploehn. At that time, cases involving more than 15,000 children had not been fully investigated within the 30-day deadline then in effect.”
Too few resources, too many new policies and inadequate training makes it nearly impossible for social workers to deliver quality social work to families and children in our system, but the CEO and Dept. of Children and Family Services leadership are taking note of the untenable conditions.
Help improve the system:
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