Los Angeles County officials announced the resignation of Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Trish Ploehn Dec. 13.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Ploehn will be transferred to a new position in the office of LA County Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka, handling work that is unrelated to child welfare.
For more than a year, LA County social workers have been pushing for key reforms in the department, meeting consistently with top county officials, including all five LA County Supervisors, with their own recommendations for change (Download the recommendations here).
Most recently, social workers joined three high-level committees aimed at reforming training, policy and emergency response referrals. Read more about the committees that include line social workers, representatives from the Chief Executive Office, including Deputy CEO Antonia Jimenez, and department management.
In an email to the entire department, Ploehn told DCFS staff that she remained “exceptionally proud of what we have accomplished together.”
In a statement released to the media, SEIU 721 Executive Director John Tanner said: “We are now on the brink of major change that will reform the most acute problems in the Department to improve the experience of the workers and the children and families they serve.”
Read the entire article here.
Read the entire statement of John Tanner, executive director of SEIU Local 721:
“Social workers, members of SEIU Local 721, are singularly focused on reforming the Los Angeles County child welfare system so that it best serves children, families and the workers who provide a critical service for the most vulnerable. Strong leadership is required to improve child welfare and move Los Angeles County forward.
“Social workers’ experience is key to honest reform. We are encouraged by the CEO’s leadership and awareness of the severe problems in DCFS. We are now on the brink of major change that will reform the most acute problems in the Department to improve the experience of the workers and the children and families they serve.”