Report 2013-110 Recommendation 18 Responses

Report 2013-110: Child Welfare Services: The County Child Welfare Services Agencies We Reviewed Must Provide Better Protection for Abused and Neglected Children (Release Date: April 2014)

Recommendation #18 To: San Francisco Human Services Agency, City and County of

To improve the timeliness of its supervisors reviews, the San Francisco County CWS agency should develop time frames for supervisors review and approval of assessments and monitor supervisors compliance with those time frames.

1-Year Agency Response

Policy: Timeframes for supervisors' review and approval of assessments are being written into policy as well as the expectation that Program Directors will in turn, systematically monitor their supervisor's compliance with the established timeframes. The timeliness for review and approval of assessments by supervisors are in line with those recommended by the Children's Research Center (CRC).

The SDM And Safety Plans Section of the ER Desk Guide provides specific timeframes for when a supervisor must review and approve the different SDM Assessment tools. These timeframes are also detailed in the ER/After Hours and the Hotline Intake Policies & Desk Guides. Specifically they state that the Supervisor must:

1. Review and approve the SDM Safety Assessment Tool within 24 hours of a PSW's request for approval online,

2. Review and approve the SDM Risk Assessment Tool within 48 hours of a PSW's request for approval online, and

3. The SDM Safety Plan must be reviewed and approved within 24 hours of a PSW's request for approval.

CQI: Once the CQI unit is firmly established and trained, they will supplement their ongoing CFSR Case Review with targeted reviews to ensure supervisory compliance with the new FCS polices.

- See Supporting Documentation

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

The policy referenced above became effective on April 27, 2015. As a result, this recommendation is fully implemented.

6-Month Agency Response

Please see response #2.

The Supervisory Oversight Workgroup will work closely with the Policy and CQI units to develop timeframes, guidelines, and a monitoring process to ensure that supervisors are reviewing and approving assessments within the newly established agency timeframes.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

To date we have hired a Policy Supervisor who will develop policies and procedures requiring supervisory review of the hotline tool. The supervisor will come on board June 9, 2014. Additionally, we are in the process of redirecting 5 Protective Services Worker (PSW) positions to the Policy unit. We expect to have them on board by July 21, 2014.

Once the unit is established, the policy unit will develop policies and guidelines for the accurate use and review of SDM, as well as develop supervisory tools delineating required timeframes for review and approval of SDM assessments. Once in place, Q.A. will develop a monitoring system to ensure that supervisors are reviewing and approving assessments within the required timeframes.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2013-110

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.