Title
Receive a presentation from the Department of Social Services on child welfare services provided in Monterey County.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Receive a presentation from the Department of Social Services on child welfare services provided in Monterey County.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Monterey County Family and Children's Services (FCS) offers child protective services, foster care services, and adoption services to children and young adults in Monterey County. The mission of FCS is to prevent the occurrence of child abuse and neglect. Service goals strive to keep children and youth safe and within protection of a permanent family.
In the past year, FCS received an average of 433 reports a month of suspected child abuse or neglect, and of those calls, an average of 165 referrals were assigned to social workers each month for investigation. Over the past year, FCS has substantiated child abuse or neglect on 3.3% of all reports made to the hotline.
When child safety threats and risk factors exist in a home, FCS provides child welfare services that are either voluntary or court ordered. In the past year, FCS opened 116 voluntary family maintenance cases through the Family Preservation Services (FPS) program. The FPS program offers services to prevent children from entering the foster care system by connecting families to community resources that can strengthen and stabilize families. These services are offered for 6-12 months and include monthly safety assessments and case management by social workers.
In the past year, 44 children entered the foster care system through Dependency Court in Monterey County and were offered family reunification services. Families can receive reunification services for up to 24 months, and in Monterey County the rate of reunification was 50% over the past year. The options for children who do not reunify are either adoption, legal guardianship, or another planned permanen...
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