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Board approves DFCS five‑year system improvement plan and flowchart; orders corrective‑action progress updates
Summary
Supervisors approved the Department of Family and Children's Services' five‑year System Improvement Plan (SIP), accepted a newly produced child‑welfare decision flowchart, and received an update on corrective‑action work with California Department of Social Services (CDSS).
The Board unanimously approved the Department of Family and Children Services' (DFCS) updated five‑year System Improvement Plan (SIP) on Tuesday and directed staff to finalize the plan with the California Department of Social Services.
DFCS officials told the board the SIP had been revised to incorporate feedback from the board, the Child Abuse Prevention Council and other stakeholders; it includes targets and timelines and will feed into the county’s next SIP cycle and peer quality‑case review. DFCS also provided a new decision‑flow chart intended to clarify the sequence of casework: hotline call → screening decision → in‑person response (joint response with law enforcement, immediate, or within 10 days) → safety assessment → voluntary services versus court filing → court services and permanency pathways.
The department reported progress on corrective‑action items required by CDSS, including a safety‑plan audit tool and customized performance dashboards for supervisors. DFCS said three corrective items have been marked complete by CDSS and 12 remain under review; the department aims to finish remaining items by May 2026.
The board voted 5‑0 to adopt the SIP, accept the flowchart and receive the corrective action update. Supervisors asked for continued monthly stakeholder engagement, more detail on timeliness of family maintenance home visits (DFCS reported 97% timely visits in 2024), and follow‑up briefings on safety‑plan audit results and community‑roundtable membership and selection criteria. DFCS said it would convene an initial community roundtable this summer and launch a community‑based school social‑worker pilot in two school districts starting in August 2025.
