The Alameda County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is now being monitored by California Department of Social Services (CDSS) after a site visit in March.
California State Senator Aisha Wahab said she asked the CDSS to conduct a second site visit to DCFS after months of meeting with DCFS through a task force. Wahab held a press conference on July 29 announcing the CDSS findings.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors announced in an Aug. 4 press release that they reached a civil lawsuit settlement with the family of Sophia Mason, an eight-year-old Hayward girl who died under the care of her mother. The grandmother, considered the heir to Mason’s estate, received a $12 million settlement.
In response to the CDSS findings, the county said, ‘Alameda County welcomes the support, monitoring and technical assistance that CDSS will provide for system improvement.’
The board on Aug. 4 also released an internal investigation on Mason’s case. It included information and signs the DCFS missed in order to keep Mason safe. “Everything wrong that was preventable to allow Sofia Mason to be alive today is clearly documented in the Sofia Mason case,” Wahab said.
In response to the CDSS findings, the county said, “Alameda County welcomes the support, monitoring and technical assistance that CDSS will provide for system improvement.”
DCFS has until Oct. 1 to implement a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and get it approved by CDSS. The CAP items included creating a policy to share information during case transfers between staff and have an internal communication plan on changes in county practice for staff.
On March 26, the CDSS conducted a site visit at DCFS and found systematic flaws. One glaring finding is after testing the hotline for suspected child abuse, there was one hour wait time and sometimes calls are hung up automatically. The hotline is step one into investigating alleged child abuse and assisting the child.
The site visit was conducted by 19 CDSS members in leadership and management positions. They found that although the department had a good foundational practice of social work, the documentation and consistency of information between staff did not meet the standards to ensure child safety.
Social workers are sometimes assigned to case manage a hotline call, which is a problem because the social worker may not be skilled in emergency response.
The biggest concern is how the referrals are handled. When cases get transferred to a new social worker, case management quality declines.
“This is a complete systems failure in Alameda County,” Wahab said.
