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Child Welfare Articles Social Worker Awareness Campaign Overview: Providing Services on the Run Children's Services Committee Plans Social Worker Awareness Campaign Social Workers, Foster Kids and Community Suggest Issues Special Reports Protecting Children, Restoring Families, It takes Time DRAGON ARTICLES July 2001 From
Homeless to College Graduate The social worker may be the only one you can trust Kathy
Garcia: I try to be that one adult a child can feel safe talking to. Making
a Difference, Jacob Ocampo takes social work to the community September 2000 Riding Along with Bilingual Worker Frederick Machado February 2000 October 1997 CWS/CMS Computer Crashes Child Welfare System Seeing Through The CWS/CMS Mess February 1997 Los Angeles County:Working in the Adoption Factory June 1996 Family Reunification Workers Speak Out
Power Crisis Blacks Out Foster Care and Child
Welfare May 29, 2001 As the state of California spends tens of millions of dollars a day to keep the lights on, the energy crisis is about to turn the lights off on children in foster care. For years social workers, children's rights advocates, and legislators have been working to address the dismal state of the child welfare and foster care system. With what appeared to be an $8 billion surplus in the state's coffers, this was to be the year for reforming the system. After years of hearings and reports, the Speaker of the California Assembly presented a package containing 13 bills to provide comprehensive reform of all aspects of the child welfare system. However, not only is there no money for the reforms, but the state revised its budget to make cut backs in the already thread-bare system. What was to be the brightest year for children's services may be the darkest. Children's social workers respond to reports of child abuse. Their mission is to protect children from molestation and abuse by providing services to repair dysfunctional families, or, if they can't make a home safe, by removing the children and placing them in a safe, healthy home where they can thrive. Most critics agree that the system is not adequately fulfilling its mission. Various studies by the state auditor have found that children and families are slipping through the cracks. Not only are children being injured, but once they are in foster care, the system is not providing enough services to nurture them and heal their wounds. There are over 100,000 children in foster care in California. Nearly 20 percent of the nation's foster children are in California. A year to 18 months after leaving the system, 45 percent are unemployed, 30 percent are on public assistance, 25 percent are homeless, and almost a third of the males have been incarcerated during that time. Why is the system failing? California passed Senate Bill 2030, which commissioned a study by the American Humane Association to analyze the jobs of child welfare workers. The study, released in April 2000, documented that the system was so understaffed that it would take nearly twice as many workers to fulfill even minimal federal guidelines. Social workers are so overworked that they cannot provide adequate services. Conditions are so bad that 20% of the workers leave the profession each year, and in some counties the rate is even higher. Dion Aroner, Chair of the California Assembly Human Services Commission, began a series of hearings on the crisis, which resulted in a comprehensive package of legislation put forward by Assembly speaker Robert Hertzberg to improve the foster care and child welfare system. Unfortunately, shortly after the $300 million package was presented, the state's legislative analyst announced that the state may have to cut $3.4 billion from the budget. Governor Davis revised the budget, making drastic cuts in the already underfunded child welfare programs. "Right now, no one quite knows what to expect," stated Michelle Castro, SEIU State Council legislative advocate, who worked hard on getting the legislature to approve the increased funding. "The tragedy is that the state is spending $73 million a day to purchase electricity. Yes, that is $73 MILLION A DAY!" The revised budget cuts $38 million from the base child welfare budget. When that is coupled with the loss in federal matching money, counties will be getting $79 million less. According to the County Welfare Directors Association of California , this translates to a loss of approximately 607 social worker positions statewide. "This is going to be a disaster," warns SEIU Local 535 union field representative Wren Bradley, a former social worker who lobbied hard for the reform legislation. "At present we have less than half the children's social workers we need. I don't know how they can cut any more jobs. Parents are going to continue abusing their kids, and those kids could grow up to be abusers as well- that is, those who don't end up dead or in the criminal justice system. God knows who is going to help the children and families in trouble, because we certainly don't have the social workers to help them and won't," she concluded angrily.
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