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County employees urge outside audit, raise safety concerns about Department of Social Services
Summary
Two county employees gave public comment alleging systemic problems at the Department of Social Services and asked the Board of Supervisors to commission an outside audit; the chair asked to collect contact information for follow-up.
At the Feb. 10 meeting, county employees and residents urged the Board of Supervisors to investigate alleged problems at the Department of Social Services (DSS), including claims of unaddressed safety risks to children and retaliation against staff.
Lorraine Ramirez, a 25‑year emergency response social worker with the Department of Children and Family Services, said she is retiring not for health reasons but because she can no longer "support a department that places children at continued risk of abuse or neglect" and urged the board to hire an outside agency to audit foster‑care cases, family reunifications and investigations.
"The bottom line is you guys need an outside audit," Ramirez said, describing what she characterized as systemic failures, employee targeting when they advocate, and a lack of honest internal oversight.
Nina Lamboy, a Department of Social Services employee and SEIU member, told the board staffing and structural issues — including administrative responses that she said focus on disciplining reporters rather than resolving risks — are driving turnover and fiscal loss to the county. "This is not a labor shortage. It's a preventable fiscal loss," Lamboy said, urging the board to create a channel for frontline workers to report concerns directly.
County leadership asked for contact information to follow up with both speakers. No department representative provided a response during the public comment period recorded in the transcript.
The board did not take immediate action on the requests during the meeting; staff said the clerk would collect the speakers' names and contact details for follow-up.
