State Auditors Find Compliance & Process Problems In Three California County Child Welfare Systems

A state-level review of county child welfare systems in Orange, San Francisco and Butte counties found inconsistent caregiver background checks, mismanagement of investigations, and poor oversight of children who were allowed to remain with their families following a safety assessment. The counties respond to reports of abuse or neglect by conducting safety and risk assessments using a standardized instrument. However, county child welfare caseworkers often did not prepare the assessments in a timely manner, or at all, and the information used in these assessments was often inaccurate, which led to flawed safety evaluations, risk evaluations, and flawed needs assessments . . .