Motion by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

January 13, 1998

MOTION BY SUPERVISOR ZEV YAROSLAVSKY AND SUPERVISOR DON KNABE

Substitute to Item No. 41-E

Great attention has been focused on the high caseloads of our social workers in the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Increased reporting and rising caseloads have exacerbated this, as well as the number of cases which remain in permanent placement indefinitely until a child is 18 years of age. Moreover, despite massive increases in resources available to DCFS, slow hiring and high attrition have hampered its efforts to bring caseload down.

In order to meet yardstick and the projected caseload increase, DCFS is requesting authority to hire an additional 306 social workers (CSWs) during the 1997-98 budget year. In order to meet this goal and the current hiring authorization, the Department would need to hire 660 CSWs by the end of June, 1998 at a rate of 110 per month. However, the current hiring rate is only 50 per month and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), in his report dated December 26, 1997, points out that given past recruitment experiences, it may be difficult to achieve the 110 per month goal. The rate of attrition among CSWs has increased by approximately 61% since 1995. Furthermore, over the past two fiscal years, the Board has authorized a 15.8% increase in DCFS staff (744 positions) and an 18.6% increase in revenues, totaling over $10 million in additional net County cost. Simply adding more positions and appropriating more funds without an assessment of the root causes of DCFS’s problems would be premature especially when existing hiring goals cannot be met.

The fact that the department cannot meet its hiring goals in a timely manner, coupled with a workload problem and a high attrition rate, cries out for a global operational assessment. This department has never had a complete management audit.

Moreover, the department’s current methodology for conducting exit interviews has proven ineffective in that any responses received from former employees are inconclusive and offer limited information. As part of an overall audit, an assessment needs to be made as to the reasons why our CSWs are leaving at an increasing rate.

Furthermore, given the number of children that are placed permanently with relatives, additional efforts need to be made to encourage adoption or legal guardianship. This will in effect lower caseload.

WE, THEREFORE, MOVE THAT:

1) The Auditor-Controller initiate a management audit of the department conducted by Auditor-Controller staff in collaboration with an independent consultant if necessary, which will evaluate the overall structure of DCFS, including workload and caseload allocation issues;

2) Instruct the Auditor-Controller to conduct a more in-depth investigation as to why the attrition rate has increased so significantly;

3) Instruct the CAO & DCFS to pursue legislation at the federal & state levels which would have the net effect of increasing the rate of adoptions as well as the number of children placed in legal guardianship.