Problems With Sacramento's Child Protective Services Led to Four Deaths. The Sacramento Bee, which began investigating problems within Sacramento County's Child Protective Services system last year, reported March 25 that the program's internal problems "are so deep and severe that at least four children died of abuse and neglect after CPS bungled their cases and missed 'clear opportunities' to remove them from danger, a draft of an independent report has concluded." The newspaper said the audit found "organizational, policy, procedural, and staffing problems throughout the division."
Among the problems are: failure to respond quickly to reports of abuse or neglect; low morale; high absenteeism; repeated failure to adopt new policies or change old ones, even after the agency has told investigative agencies that changes need to be made; caseload increases that are not being properly addressed by management; and struggles by social workers and supervisors to cope with a system that "places a higher emphasis on documentation and deskwork than on children and fieldwork."
The Bee also reported the audit found a lack of discipline, "even in extreme cases, such as when employees have been caught lying, stealing supplies meant for families or children, or falsifying case documents."
In recent weeks, The Bee has published the results of its latest investigation into the troubled program, reporting that 7 percent of the CPS workers in Sacramento have criminal records. The newspaper identified 68 workers with criminal histories, including convictions for such crimes as possession of heroin for sale, theft, embezzlement, spousal abuse, prostitution and identity theft. (Source: The Sacramento Bee, March 25.)
Cal-Taxletter, March 27, 2009
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