Transcript of Department of Social Services: Child Welfare
- 1. Child Welfare DivisionFresno County, California
- 2. Phone:(559) 600-2300Address:Fax:2135 Fresno(559)
600-2395StreetFresno, CA 93721Child ProtectiveServices
Hotline:(559) 255-8320Childrens MentalHealth CrisisServices
Hotline:(559) 453-3860
- 3. Disproportionality amongAfrican Americans, as wellas other
minorities Poverty Issues Physical neglect & abuseof
children
- 4. Physical Abuse: A physical injury that is inflicted by
otherthan accidental means on a child by another person. Sexual
Abuse: includes rape, incest, sodomy, lewd orlascivious acts, oral
copulation, penetration of genital oranal opening by a foreign
object and child molestation. Emotional Abuse: willfully causing
harm or permits achild to suffer mental harm Physical Neglect: the
negligent treatment or themaltreatment of a child by a person
responsible for thechilds welfare.
- 5. Abused Children (physical, sexual, emotional) Neglect of
Children Parents Domestic Abuse issues Substance Abuse Issues
Povertycontains scenes of mom being held to thefloor & punched
repeatedly
- 6. The Child: Shows sudden changes in behavior or school
performance Has not received help for physical or medical problems
brought to the parents attention Has learning problems (or
difficulty concentrating) that cannot be attributed to specific
physicalor psychological causes Is always watchful, as though
preparing for something bad to happen Lacks adult supervision Is
overly compliant, passive, or withdrawn Comes to school or other
activities early, stays late, and does not want to go home The
Parent: Shows little concern for the child Denies the existence
ofor blames the child forthe childs problems in school or at home
Asks teachers or other caregivers to use harsh physical discipline
if the child misbehaves Sees the child as entirely bad, worthless,
or burdensome Demands a level of physical or academic performance
the child cannot achieve Looks primarily to the child for care,
attention, and satisfaction of emotional needs The Parent and
Child: Rarely touch or look at each other Consider their
relationship entirely negative State that they do not like each
otherhttp://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
- 7. How many deaths per year? Estimated 1,1700 child fatalities
in 2009 Who are the perpetrators Individuals responsible for the
care of the victims in 2009, 75% of infant fatalities were caused
by parents How do these deaths occur? Fatal child abuse may involve
repeated abuse over a period oftime (e.g., battered child
syndrome), or it may involve a single,impulsive incident (e.g.,
drowning, suffocating, or shaking ababy). Fatal neglect, the childs
death results not fromanything the caregiver does, but from a
caregivers failure to act.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/fatality.cfm
- 8. Vision To lead an integrated network of community partners
thatsupports, protects, & strengthens children & families.
Mission To promote a system of best practice in partnership with
thecommunity, committed to prevention & early intervention,
thatensures child safety, permanence & stability, family
well-being, thatis proactive, strategic, outcomes based, &
fiscally responsible tothe children & families served.My goal
as a social worker is to provide best practice in all myactions
with my clients, (Eva Torres, SWIII)
- 9. County of Fresno employees and community partnersprovide
assessment, intervention, prevention, placementand mental health
treatment services for infants, children,youth and families of
Fresno County.
http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/DepartmentPage.aspx?id=23095
- 10. Practice? Always strive for the best for the clients no
matter the situation Policy & Procedure? The work of Child
Welfare is directed by State and Federal Lawwhich then guides
Regulations and Policies in place at all levels,from the Federal
level all the way down to the Local Agency level. Views of clients?
Treated with respect & dignity Viewed as able to make change
How SW make contact with clients & what that portrays? Home
calls Most clients do not have transportation, SW make the effort
to make contact where the client is located
- 11. Negative stigma Bad reputationwe (child welfare) are
presented in the media as a result ofa child death or if anything
else major and negative thathappens, (Eva Torres, SWIII)
- 12. Social Work: The social work profession promotes social
change, problemsolving in human relationships and the empowerment
& liberationof people to enhance well-being. Utilizing theories
of humanbehavior & social systems, social work intervenes at
the pointwhere people interact with their environments. Principles
ofhuman rights and social justice are fundamental to social
work.
- 13. Values: 1. Service 2. Social Justice 3. Dignity & worth
of the person Importance of human rights Integrity CompetenceI
think that the social workers in my agency at the Department of
Social Servicesespecially promote social work values when working
with the children. Socialworkers serve the children in taking them
out of abusive situations, providingresources for their family
& parents to better care for their children, provide justiceto
abused children, provide them with the knowledge that they are
worthy, protecttheir rights as children and do all of the above
with competence.
- 14. Social Justice: Social workers have a responsibility to
promote social justice, in relation to society generally, and in
relation to the people whom they work with. This means: Challenging
negative discrimination Recognizing Diversity Distributing
resources equitably Challenging unjust policies a practices
Professional conductUniversal and lasting peace can be established
only if it is based upon social justice.Social justice is described
as the right and opportunity of all people to benefit equally
fromthe resources afforded us by society and the environment."
- 15. Human Rights: Social work is based on respect for the
inherent worth & dignity ofpeople, & the rights that follow
from this. Social workers should uphold &defend each persons
physical, psychological, emotional & spiritualintegrity &
well-being. This Means: 1. Respecting the right to
self-determination 2.Promoting the right to participation 3.
Treating each person as a whole 4. Identifying & developing
strengthsThe social workers at my agency (DSS) often ask the client
what their needsare, provide them with referrals & resources,
help them identify strengthsunknown to the client & then let
the client take the action themselves. Thesocial workers are never
disrespectful & continually look at the client as acomplete
individual that needs a helping hand. When the client has thanked
thesocial worker for their success, the social workers at DSS often
remind the clientthat it was their strengths & determination
that brought them to where they now.Social workers in my agency
also protect the rights of children daily by removingthem from
abusive homes, or daily checking on children in the at-risk
homes.
- 16. INTERIM DIRECTOR: Judy Lemos Administrative Secretary:
Terry Reyna DEPUTY DIRECTORS: Christine Balbas, CalWORKs &
Welfare to Work Services Howard Himes, Child Welfare Judy Lemos,
Administrative Support Services Marlene Pascua, Adult Services
Steve Rodriguez, Medi-Cal & CalFresh, Regional Services
- 17. PROGRAM MANAGERS: Maria Aguirre, Program Manager West
Fresno Regional Center-Voluntary Family Maintenance- Family
Reunification- Permanency Planning Vivian Aldridge, Program Manager
Cal Works-Sanction Unit-Ongoing Metro-Refugee Services-West Fresno
Regional Barbara Boswell, Program Manager Staff Development David
Cannon, Program Manager Medi-Cal & CalFresh Ongoing Rapid
Services Unit Supportive Services Call Center Joy Cronin, Program
Manager Child Focus & Teen Parenting Teams School Based
Independent Living Program Court Ordered Supervised Visitation
Linda DuChene, Program ManagerCalWIN Project Manager CalWIN Help
Desk IEVS (Integrated Earnings Verification System) John Dufresne,
Program Manager Court Services Care Line Central Desk Linda
Espinosa, Program Manager Program Integrity Appeals QA/QC (Quality
AssuranceQuality Control)
- 18. Program Specialists Henry Flores, Program Manager General
Relief Homeless CalFresh Oralia Gomez, Program Manager Welfare to
Work Services Employment Resource Center Special Needs- Work
Experience Fresno City College Adolescent Services AFLP JoseLuis
Gonzalez, Program Manager Welfare to Work Services Refugee
Coordinator Ongoing Metro West Fresno Regional Employment Services
Joel Gurss, Program Manager In-Home Supportive Services Adult
Protective Services Katherine Martindale, Program Manager Child
Welfare Metro Division Deborah Martinez, Program Manager Foster
Care Eligibility Foster Parent Resources Relative Foster Parent
HomeApproval Enrique Medina, Program Manager Regional Centers
(Reedley, Selma, Coalinga, & Kerman)
- 19. Lauri Moore, Program ManagerEmergency Response Family to
Family Sylvia Mota, Program ManagerMedi-Cal & CalFresh Ongoing
Wendy Osikafo, Program ManagerCA Partners for Permanency Michael
Reiser, Program ManagerAged, Blind & Disabled Medi-Cal CalFresh
Public Authority Harkiran (Kiran) Sandhu, Program ManagerCalWORKs
Intake Homeless Assistance Rapid Service Unit Tina Torres, Program
ManagerChild Care Welfare to Work Services Maria
Villapudua-Herrera, Program ManagerMedi-Cal CalFresh Intake Peter
Vue, Program ManagerMedi-Cal & CalFresh Ongoing Outreach
Edwards Medi-Cal
- 20. Child Abuse and Neglectwww.childwelfare.govIdentifying
Child Abuse and
Neglectwww.childwelfare.gov/can/identifyingPreventing Child Abuse
and Neglectwww.childwelfare.gov/preventingReporting Child Abuse and
Neglectwww.childwelfare.gov/responding/reporting.cfm