Tulare County Child and Welfare

Services Agency Analysis

By: Elaine Ramos

Agency Vision, Mission, & Values

• Agency Vision: Health children & adults, Supportive families, thriving communities.

• Mission: Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency is dedicated to protecting & strengthening being of the community through development of effective polices, and services delivered in a cultural & linguistically competent manner.

• Values: HHSA sponsors services & polices that are: collaborative, community-driven, evidence-based.

• HHSA promotes services delivery that is: culturally competent, respectful, a model of excellence.

• HHSA supports a working environment that demonstrates: diversity, integrity, teamwork & mutual respect, account, staff development & recognition.

Populations-at- risk whose needs the agency addresses

• Young mothers & children

• The needs and concerns of foster families, children, parents, and relatives.

• Children at risk families with domestic violence, mental health, with alcohol & drug abuse.

Deception of the community context of the agency:

• Geographic Community served by HHSA: is Tulare County, which is any town/ city in Tulare county. Pixley, Tulare, Visalia, Porterville, Farmersville ect.

• The income level HHSA serves are families that are on public assistance, the care considered low-Socio Economic level. They usually make under $12,000-$16,000 a year.

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• Demographic groups that live in the community: low-income families, diverse ethnic such as Hispanics , African Americans, White , American Indian, Asian, Multiracial. HHSA works with all ages from new born babies to their adult parents in offering them services. They work with foster teens as well basically children and families that need help as a family dealing with Child Welfare.

• Transportation: Most people travel to the agency in a bus, they get a ride, or they have their own car.

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• HHSA is very actively involved with the community.

• Other agencies & organizations that the agency interacts with are; the Family Resource Center, CASA, Tulare Youth Services Burro, Foster Family Assistance, Parenting Network, Alcohol & Other Drugs Treatment & Prevention Services, C-Set, California Children Services, Drug & Preventions Services, Medi-Cal, TCMC Eligibility Unit, and Mental Health Services Administration.

Description of the Services provided by Organizations

• Family Resource Center helps with EVERYTHING, helps them get a job (C-Set is which organization helps with this, they work together), housing, paying bills, education, counseling, parenting classes, ect.

• TCMC Eligibility Unit- helps with looking at the family to see if they are eligible for services such as aid and state money (foster care provider).

• The rest of the organizations that help are common but if you do not know what they do feel free to ask

Organized Structure of HHSA

• HHSA is a deductive agency where the one on top gives every one else the work so everything goes downwards. If you are not close to the top you will get to do the most work.

• HHSA is a public agency and has a board of supervisors.

• Top management positions: Deputy of Human Health & Services, Supervisors, Lead Worker, and Manager.

• Job Positions Held: office assistance, Child Welfare Assistance, Social Workers( E.R., on-going, ILP, AB12, Group Homes, ect) Clinicians, security guards, court writers.

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• Supervision of front of the line workers & interns: it varies because there is not one person in charge there are many so it depends what unit you are in and what area in the agency.

• In HHSA the role of a client is: to comply with the services that are offered to them.

• In HHSA the role of the constituents is: is find the best services that will help the clients they are working with succeed in whatever it may be they want, to get their children back, to get therapy, to get assistance, a bus pass, take parenting classes, ect.

Organization functions in terms of Social Work Values

Social Justice• They proved the services that

the client needs and the workers look for the resources to help their clients.

• The workers put the needs of their clients first and try their best to help them.

Culture Competence• There are forms in any different

languages in the agency, there are interrupters on hand in case the workers need one.

• Clients also sign language rights forms to let the worker know which language they prefer all of their paper work in.

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Employment• The workers work with

their clients schedules the most they can.

• They encourage them to keep up with their case plan, and tell them that they will succeed.

Human Rights• Clients have human rights, everything

is done by the law at the agency. I just feel that they should have more say in the process but in most case they lose rights to their children so that is gone. They just don’t have parent rights but they have civil& political rights, collective rights, & economic, social & culture rights at the agency.

Similar Agency: Government of Yukon Canada

• Mission Statement: The mission of the Department of Health & Social Services commits the department & its employees to quality health & social services for Yukons.

• Vision: Helping individuals acquire the skills to live responsible, health, & independent lives and providing a range of accessible, affordable services that assist individuals, families & communities to reach their full potential.

• This agency offers the same services that Tulare County Welfare does they just have different names but it is the same thing.

References

• www.hss.gov.yk.ca

• http://www.tchhsa.org/hhsa/

• Pictures up in the agency

• HHSA pamphlet

• Zayas, Alicia. Salavin, Bron. Interviews. 2013 October