Report 2018-126 All Recommendation Responses

Report 2018-126: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services: It Has Not Adequately Ensured the Health and Safety of All Children in Its Care (Release Date: May 2019)

Recommendation #1 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that it protects children by completing investigations, assessments, home inspections, and background checks in a timely manner, by November 2019 the department should require staff and supervisors to utilize tracking reports and email alerts to identify investigations and SDM assessments not completed on time.

1-Year Agency Response

On November 27, 2019, the Department's Structured Decision Making (SDM) email alert system went live as planned. Based on when SDM Safety and/or Risk assessments are due, Children's Social Workers (CSWs), Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs), Assistant Regional Administrators, Regional Administrators, and/or Deputy Directors now receive alerts informing them of any outstanding assessments for appropriate oversight.

On the same date, relevant policy updates were published to include timeframes for SDM completion (refer to attachments).

NOTE: To further assist with tracking efforts, CSWs and SCSWs can review when SDMs are due on their cases and/or opt in to receive email notifications regarding upcoming and incomplete SDMs through the National Council on Crime & Delinquency's WebSDM application.

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

The department provided documentation that shows reports it uses to track the number of overdue investigations and SDM assessments, which are automatically generated and sent via email alert to differing levels of staff at different intervals.

6-Month Agency Response

The Department continues to enforce the Director's Escalation Plan to track and escalate investigations to the attention of higher-level managers as the age of investigations increase.

In March 2019, Regional Administrators (RAs) made it a formal management goal to decrease the percentage of investigations aging over 30 days - recognizing that some complex referrals necessarily exceed 30 days to ensure child safety. The Service Bureaus subsequently adopted an action plan to have regional offices with the highest percentages of "over-30s" during various points in time participate in Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats (SWOT) analysis conferences with Executive Team members to discuss problematic issues and contributing factors, and to strategize how to best target systemic barriers causing the undue delays (data regarding progress attached).

As for the oversight/monitoring of Structured Decision Making (SDM) assessments, a workgroup convened in August 2019 to establish the criteria for alert notifications concerning overdue SDM Safety and Risk assessments. Consequently, the Department's Business Information Systems Division developed an automated email alert system that sends notification on a graduated basis to Children's Social Workers, Supervising Children's Social Workers, Assistant Regional Administrators, RAs, and Deputy Directors reminding them of the need to tend to overdue assessments.

Department management has been meeting with its labor partners to discuss the workload impact of the newly created alerts; a follow-up meeting is scheduled for November 26, 2019.

Barring any unforeseen barriers, the Department intends to proceed with implementing the SDM alerts by November 30, 2019.

Background checks are discussed under Recommendation #4.

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

60-Day Agency Response

On March 22, 2019, the Department issued a memorandum on Emergency Response (ER) Investigations and outlined an Escalation Plan to address the timely closure of ER referrals. The Department also issued a For Your Information (FYI) bulletin titled "Timely Submission and Approval of Structured Decision Making (SDM) Tools" on May 29, 2019 delineating due dates for completing and approving various SDM assessment tools for Children's Social Workers (CSWs) and Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs). On June 24, 2019, the Department further issued a foundational policy on SDM with specific guidelines on how and when to conduct and complete the different assessments.

Now that the needed matrices in place, the Department's BIS division is developing appropriate management tracking reports and email alerts to ensure that timely investigations and accurate assessments are completed.

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

Recommendation #2 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that it protects children by completing investigations, assessments, home inspections, and background checks in a timely manner, by November 2019 the department should establish thresholds for the number of days that will trigger follow-up from the department's various levels of management.

60-Day Agency Response

On March 22, 2019, the Department issued a memorandum on Emergency Response (ER) Investigations and outlined an Escalation Plan to address the timely closure of ER referrals. The Escalation Plan notes what courses of action to take at the 21st, 45th, and 60th day of open investigations and instructs managers to develop work plans at each phase to target safe dispositions and closure. The Escalation Plan also provides different strategies to employ when closing outstanding referrals.

On May 29, 2019, the Department issued a For Your Information (FYI) bulletin titled "Timely Submission and Approval of Structured Decision Making (SDM) Tools" delineating due dates for completing and approving various SDM assessment tools for Children's Social Workers (CSWs) and Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs).

On June 24, 2019, the Department released a foundational policy on SDM with thorough guidelines on how and when to conduct and complete the different SDM assessments. The policy provides specific procedural instructions and outlines the required submission/approval timelines for each assessment.

Based on the thresholds established in the Escalation Plan and the SDM procedural guides, the Department's s BIS division is developing appropriate management tracking reports and email alerts to ensure that timely investigations and accurate assessments are completed.

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

The department provided the referenced documents demonstrating that it established the thresholds specified in the recommendation.

Recommendation #3 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that it protects children by completing investigations, assessments, home inspections, and background checks in a timely manner, by November 2019 the department should implement a tracking mechanism to monitor and follow-up on uncompleted or undocumented initial home inspections and background checks.

1-Year Agency Response

On November 27, 2019, DCFS went live with the Foster Care Search System (FCSS) update detailed in the Department's 6-month response to the State.

As indicated in the 6-month response, the entry of background check completion dates for caregivers and other adults are now a prerequisite for placement packet requests submitted electronically. The mandatory background check data fields now appear when an FCCS placement packet is flagged as being an emergency placement (i.e., a child was placed into the home prior to Resource Family Approval).

To assist with oversight and monitoring efforts, a dedicated workgroup identified how to use a specific set of CWS/CMS data fields to evaluate entries related to home inspections for prospective emergency placements. The information was used to develop a management tracking report that monitors compliance with home inspection and background check requirements. The report was finalized in mid-April and is now available for regional managers to regularly access and use.

Additionally, on November 26 and 27, 2019, relevant policy updates/bulletins were published detailing how to enter home inspection and background check information onto FCSS and CWS/CMS (refer to attachments).

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

The department provided documentation demonstrating that it implemented the tracking mechanism described in its response.

6-Month Agency Response

On August 30, 2019, the Department issued a For Your Information (FYI) bulletin reiterating the need to complete both background checks and initial home inspections prior to placing children in out-of-home care. The FYI provided instructions on where to document the checks and inspections on Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) and informed staff that efforts were underway to determine how best to streamline documentation practices.

The Department's Business Information Systems Division subsequently developed enhancements to its Foster Care Search System (FCSS), a web-based application that conducts electronic searches of placements for children/youth based on their characteristics/needs and also generates foster care placement agreements and other documents known as foster care placement packets. Mandatory data fields were added to FCSS to capture when emergency pre-placement searches were completed on California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, Child Abuse Central Index, and CWS/CMS, and system function limits were built, requiring the entry of dates for background checks and home inspections on requests for foster care placement packets. This system enhancement now equips FCSS with internal safeguards, since placements cannot not occur without foster care placement packets and foster care placement packet requests cannot be submitted without details of completed background checks.

Relevant policies and procedural guides were revised to reflect changes in practices and documenting procedures, and meetings were held with labor partners to discuss the potential workload impact of such changes.

The FCSS system enhancement and related policy updates will be released by the end of November 2019, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is exploring how best to track initial home inspections and background checks to ensure that they are completed appropriately in accordance with mandated time frames. Several ideas have been presented and are being evaluated. The Department is considering the most feasible options given its worker caseloads, workflow processes, and ability to develop, enhance, or reengineer existing applications/programs to implement a sufficient tracking system.

In the interim, the Department is developing a For Your Information (FYI) bulletin reiterating the need to complete both background checks and initial home inspections prior to placing children in out-of-home care. The pertinent policy will be revised and updated to reflect the adopted monitoring practices, once the necessary tracking mechanisms are in place.

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

Recommendation #4 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that it protects children by completing investigations, assessments, home inspections, and background checks in a timely manner, by November 2019 the department should implement a tracking mechanism to monitor live scan criminal record checks.

1-Year Agency Response

In November 2019, the Department issued the RFA policy as outlined in the 6-month response. The policy included procedures RFA staff must follow to utilize the Criminal Clearance Tracking System (CCTS) for the tracking and monitoring of timely Live Scans by RFA applicants.

Through Criminal Clearance Tracking System (CCTS) enhancements, RFA Children's Social Workers (CSWs) and Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs) now receive email alerts when RFA records are created for applicants to inform them that Live Scans for adults are required within five days.

In addition, since the Department's last update in November 2019, the DCFS Business Information Systems (BIS) division worked with dedicated RFA managers to create a Live Scan management oversight report that identifies RFA applicants who have not submitted to Live Scans as required. The report was tested in March and feedback from RFA mangers was incorporated accordingly. The RFA management teams are integrating the updated report into their internal control protocols to help support the timely compliance of RFA requirements.

The Department continues to pursue efforts in making the Live Scan management report more meaningful to its regional operations.

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

The department provided documentation demonstrating that is has implemented the tracking mechanism described in its response to the recommendation.

6-Month Agency Response

The Department's Criminal Clearance Tracking System (CCTS) is a web-based application system that was previously developed to automate the manual tracking of Live Scan, California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), and Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) activity. CCTS transmits Live Scan, CLETS, and CACI requests to the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the California Department of Justice and allows for the retrieval of results for those requests.

In October 2019, the Department's Business Information Systems Division programmed enhancements to CCTS so that it displays a dashboard for the RFA Children's Social Workers (CSWs)/Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs) with information about Live Scans sorted in the following categories:

- Pending (still within the 5-days);

- Completed (within 5-days);

- Completed (beyond 5-days); and

- Not completed.

Using the date of placement as a trigger, CCTS will sort Resource Family Approval (RFA) applicants in the referenced categories to help RFA CSWs/SCSWs better track and monitor the status of applicants' Live Scans. The data will also be extracted for inclusion in management reports for regional/program managers to assist with oversight efforts. In addition, CCTS will generate email alerts to RFA CSWs/SCSWs once the CCTS RFA record is created for applicants to provide notification that Live Scans for adults are required within 5-days. CCTS will also generate email alerts to RFA/case-carrying CSWs/SCSWs when applicants' Live Scan results are received.

A policy with details on system enhancements and procedural/practice changes will be issued by the end of November 2019, to coincide with the release of the FCSS update.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is evaluating how live scan practices can be adjusted to meet the requirements set forth in the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Written Directives and the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) statutes. The e Department's Business Information Systems (BIS) division will also examine the feasibility of further developing the Criminal Clearance Tracking System (CCTS) to add tracking features for use in its monitoring efforts.

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

Recommendation #5 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that it protects children by completing investigations, assessments, home inspections, and background checks in a timely manner, by November 2019 the department should conduct annual reviews of community organizations that perform home environment assessments to ensure that they complete these assessments on schedule.

6-Month Agency Response

In May 2019, the Department completed monitoring reviews of all contracted Relative Home Assessment Services (RHAS) Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) that provided Resource Family Approval related services in 2017 and 2018. In November, the Department began conducting reviews of the RHAS CBOs that provided services in 2019, and are on schedule to complete them by the end of the year. As part of the 2019 evaluations, the Department is ensuring that the corrective actions identified in the earlier reviews are implemented.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The monitoring reviews for all contracted Relative Home Assessment Services (RHAS) Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) that provided RFA-related services in 2017 and 2018 have been completed. The results of the evaluations are under review, and letters for each contracted agency are being drafted. The Department will conduct follow-up reviews as necessary throughout the remainder of 2019 to ensure that identified Corrective Action Plans are properly implemented.

Efforts are underway to enhance the existing RFA database system (Binti) with functionalities and features that allow for more efficient review processes.

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

Recommendation #6 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that its staff appropriately use SDM assessments to identify safety threats and risks, the department should incorporate SDM instructions into its policies and procedures by July 2019 and provide mandatory annual SDM training for applicable staff, supervisors, and other members of management by May 2020.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021

The Department continued to offer the SDM Foundational trainings through September 2021, and will continue to require SDM Foundational trainings for newly hired CSWs and SCSWs quarterly. In addition, sessions for SDM "Leading Decision Making in Investigations" will be offered starting in September 2021 to ensure all managers are in compliance.

Beginning in September 2021, DCFS and Evident Change will train leadership and line staff, on the use of SDM Risk and Reunification Reassessment tools to determine when it's safe to reunify or close the case. The SDM Safe Transitions for leadership training started September 28, 2021, with an additional 12 sessions scheduled. The SDM Safe Transitions for staff will begin on October 27th and 28th and continue through 2022.

In addition, the Department is developing two mandatory SDM Refresher Webinars for CSWs, SCSWs, and ARAs. The first webinar is slated for November 18, 2021 and the second one in February 2022. These webinars will be recorded and made available to all staff to complete annually.

1) SDM Foundational Training continues as on-going for new CSW

2) SDM Safe Transitions for Staff goes through December 2022.

3) SDM Safe Transitions for Leadership goes through June 2022.

4) SDM Webinars are on-going noting access via and LMS. The 2nd virtual session is targeted for February 2022.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2021

To ensure staff appropriately use SDM assessments to identify safety threats and risk, DCFS continued the rollout of its SDM "Leading Decision Making in Investigations" and held 20 virtual sessions of the training from May 18, 2020, through October 15, 2020. Additionally, DCFS began offering virtual Foundational SDM trainings on July 2020, and held 111 training sessions through April 2021. The Department will continue to offer the Foundational trainings through August 2021, and will continue to require SDM trainings for newly hired CSWs and SCSWs.

On March 23, 2021, DCFS began a refresher plan with DCFS and Evident Change (formerly NCCD) leading a Coaching Session with select Emergency Response (ER) ARAs and Core Practice Model Coach Developers. Participants developed skills around consultation with line staff to ensure appropriate use of SDM safety assessments and safety planning. In addition, select ARAs will lead mandatory peer learning sessions for all ER ARAs and all Coaches located in Regional Offices.

In November 2021, DCFS and Evident Change will train leadership and line staff, on the use of Risk and Reunification Reassessment tools to determine when it's safe to reunify or close the case. These trainings are currently under development; however, once they commence they will continue until December 2022.

In addition, the Department will develop a mandatory SDM Refresher Webinar Series for CSWs, SCSWs, and ARAs. This webinar is slated for a November 2021, launch and will be available for workers to complete annually.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

As indicated in the 6-month response, the Department began rollout of its SDM "Leading Decision Making in Investigations" training on January 22, 2020, for Executive Leadership, Regional Administrators, Division Chiefs, Assistant Regional Administrators, and SCSWs. Eight of 20 scheduled sessions were held before stay-at-home orders were enacted in Los Angeles County due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department worked with the National Council on Crime & Delinquency (NCCD) to redesign the trainings for remote learning, which is scheduled to start in later May 2020.

On February 5-7, 2020, the Department held a 3-day "Train-the-Trainers" session for the SDM Foundational Safety and Risk Training designed for CSWs and SCSWs. DCFS Training managers worked with their trainers to improve their SDM knowledge and ability to train this curriculum.

As mentioned above, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Department having to restructure trainings for remote learning, and therefore, previously scheduled SDM trainings were modified and extended. The first session of the 2-day SDM Foundational Safety and Risk Training for CSWs and SCSWs was scheduled for April 1, 2020, however, was postponed as a result of COVID-19. Redesigned remote learning sessions are slated to start in July 2020.

The new projected completion date is now March 2021.

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

6-Month Agency Response

As previously reported, Structured Decision Making (SDM) instructions were incorporated into an SDM policy on June 24, 2019. Additionally, updates were published to the "Disposition of Allegations and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals" on August 8, 2019, as further detailed in the Recommendation #7 update.

Children's Social Workers (CSWs) continue to receive SDM training in their core curriculum and specially trained "SDM Champions" in regional offices provide information and support to their peers.

Efforts to roll out additional SDM trainings have been held pending resolution of regulatory and statutory issues related to SDM Risk Assessment recommendations for High and Very High Risk referrals with unfounded or inconclusive dispositions; the issue is namely with opening a case without a substantiated referral. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) has provided DCFS with guidance and DCFS, along with other California counties, have requested and are awaiting additional direction from the California Department of Social Services.

Upon resolution, training for Managers and Supervisors will begin in early 2020, followed by trainings for SCSWs and CSWs. Trainings will include: "Leading when Decision Making" to orient staff to proper SDM use; "SDM Safety and Risk Foundational Training: Training for Trainers," to provide DCFS staff with skills and knowledge to train on SDM; and "SDM Safety and Risk Foundational Training" to teach proper use of SDM assessments in practice. The anticipated completion time is November 2020.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The Department issued a For Your Information (FYI) bulletin titled "Timely Submission and Approval of Structured Decision Making (SDM) Tools" on May 29, 2019 delineating due dates for the various SDM assessment tools for Children's Social Workers (CSWs) and Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs). The FYI includes guidelines for SCSWs on how to evaluate case documents and records to gauge proper use of the assessment tools, and provides links to additional resources for further clarification on SDM use.

The Department issued a policy on June 24, 2019, titled "Structured Decision Making (SDM)" with guidelines regarding the different SDM assessments. It provides specific procedural instructions and includes information covering the following sections:

- Safety, Risk, & Reunification Assessments;

- Substitute Care Provider (SCP) Safety Assessment; and

- Family/Child Strengths and Needs Assessments.

With respect to training, new CSW hires receive extensive SDM training as a component of their DCFS foundational Core Academy when their tenure begins with the Department, in accordance with the State's Common Core Curricula mandate. For current staff, the Department launched an SDM training campaign in May 2019 starting with its Child Protection Hotline (CPH) workers and regional office Assistant Regional Administrators (ARAs) through sessions titled, "Using Structured Decision Making Assessments in Case Consultation: A Review of Best Practices". The Department hosted 10 sessions through July and the next phase of trainings are slated to begin later this year with Initial SDM System Re-Orientation training sessions, followed by Advanced SDM Supervision and Management Trainings. While a plan for subsequent refresher trainings is under development, the Department is working with regional "SDM Champions" to hone and develop SDM skill sets so they can serve as SDM resources and guides within their respective offices.

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

Recommendation #7 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that supervisors review investigations, assessments, and other documentation on time, the department should, by November 2019, specify time frames by which each type of document should be reviewed. In doing so, the department should acknowledge the particular urgency of reviewing safety assessments and related safety plans, which are key to determining whether to leave a child in the home.

6-Month Agency Response

The Department continues to follow its foundational Structured Decision Making (SDM) policy which clearly delineates time frames for the completion and approval of various SDM assessment tools, as previously detailed in the 60-day update to the State.

Additionally, on August 8, 2019, the Department published updates to the "Disposition of Allegations and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals" policy and it now includes a table with time frames specifying when safety and risk assessments must be completed by Children's Social Workers. Further updates made to this policy included the addition of hyperlinks to more detailed SDM information, including a comprehensive table with SDM assessment completion and approval time frames.

NOTE: Although departmental policies are typically published with an issue (or revised) date, the changes put forth in the aforementioned policy were not substantive and did not require the usual vetting process with the Department's labor partners, managers, and other vested stakeholders. The policy issue date therefore did not change, and still reflects the issue date of May 2, 2019. Further, the policy is currently under revision and will include a table further clarifying supervisor approval time frames within the body of the new version. The Policy Review Committee was held to discuss these updates on November 13, 2019, and the updated policy will be published upon final approval.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The Department issued a For Your Information (FYI) bulletin titled "Timely Submission and Approval of Structured Decision Making (SDM) Tools" on May 29, 2019 delineating due dates for the completion and approval of various SDM assessment tools for Children's Social Workers (CSWs) and Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs). The Department further issued a foundational policy titled "Structured Decision Making (SDM)" on June 24, 2019 with guidelines regarding the different SDM assessments. The policy provides specific procedural instructions and includes information covering Goals of SDM; Decision Points & Their Corresponding SDM Tools; Hotline Tools; Safety Assessment; Substitute Care Provider (SCP) Safety Assessment; Risk Assessment; Risk Reassessment (for In-Home Cases); Reunification Reassessment (for Out-of-Home Cases); and Time Frames for Assessment and Documentation among other topics.

The Department is working on updating its policy titled "Disposition of Allegations and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals" so it clearly outlines the time frames for completing relevant or required investigatory checks and assessments.

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

Recommendation #8 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To improve the accuracy of its assessments, the department should require supervisors to regularly review and evaluate assessments against available evidence and observations. It should implement this process by July 2019.

60-Day Agency Response

The Department's For Your Information (FYI) bulletin titled "Timely Submission and Approval of Structured Decision Making (SDM) Tools" outlines the due dates for the various SDM assessment tools for Children's Social Workers (CSWs) and Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs) and includes guidelines for SCSWs on how to evaluate case documents and records to gauge proper use of the assessment tools. It also provides links to additional resources for further clarification on SDM use. The Department's foundational SDM policy provides additional context and describes what is both expected and required of CSWs and SCSWs when conducting the various assessments.

The Department has a regional review system in place for Assistant Regional Administrators (ARAs) to evaluate SCSW practices and approaches regularly through monthly referral/case reviews; the ARAs assess fidelity to practice standards and mandates while examining both regional and systemic constructs affecting their practices.

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

Recommendation #9 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To improve the quality of supervisors' reviews and to allow it to hold supervisors accountable, the department should, by May 2020, reduce the number of social workers assigned to each supervisor to at least the ratio specified in its union contract.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021

The Department continues its hiring efforts to fill its existing vacant SCSW items. As of October 6, 2021, 74 promotions to SCSWs were processed since January 2021 and there are currently 16 SCSW vacancies. According to the 2018 Memorandum of Understanding, Bargaining Unit 777 - Supervising Children's Social Worker, Article 44 - Caseloads, Section 1, the span-of-control ratio is 1:6 SCSW to CSW. Based on currently employed staff, there is one SCSW per every 5 CSWs.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2021

In March 2021, the Department began efforts to reassess SCSW to CSW ratios after a lengthy hold on hiring initiatives due to pandemic-related fiscal curtailments. The SCSW Span of Control Labor Management workgroup resumed its regular meetings with Senior Management to discuss ratio reduction strategies and how to better support its SCSW workforce. The Department subsequently initiated a hiring campaign to fill its existing vacant SCSW items, and plans to have the positions filled within the next three months. The effort will bring the Department's SCSW to CSW ratio to an average of 5.4 for regional offices.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

The Supervising Children's Social Worker (SCSW) Span of Control Labor-Management Workgroup met five times from August 2019 through February 2020, to discuss strategies to reduce SCSW span of control.

As part of the workgroup's efforts, a review of SCSW roles and responsibilities across the regional offices and special programs was conducted; capacities of SCSWs in specialized, non-case-carrying, and non-supervisory units were evaluated and considered. The workgroup contemplated reapportioning SCSWs in these functions to supervisory roles over CSWs, but it was determined that reallocation of those SCSWs would pose a greater detriment to the Department's ability to fully and effectively implement the Shared Core Practice Model (CPM), since many of those SCSWs are CPM coach developers.

In addition, the Department requested 102 SCSW items for fiscal year 2020-2021 from the County's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to help reduce SCSW span of control. The March outbreak of the novel coronavirus however, placed budgetary restrictions on all County departments and operations and thwarted the Department's efforts to secure additional supervisory items for the purposes of further reducing SCSW to CSW ratios. Since the governing entities of Los Angeles County must now curtail spending and pursue conservative operation strategies to offset fiscal losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, DCFS will not actively pursue any major hiring initiatives at this time.

The Department will however, reassess the SCSW to CSW ratios when necessary and fiscally feasible, and make best efforts to maintain the reduced average from before the pandemic (i.e., 5.17 in February 2020).

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: No Action Taken

6-Month Agency Response

The Department formed a Supervising Children's Social Worker (SCSW) Span-of-Control Workgroup with its labor partners and convened meetings on August 29, 2019; September 12, 2019; October 24, 2019, and November 14, 2019, to strategize how best to meet and sustain a 1:6 SCSW to Children's Social Worker (CSW) span-of-control ratio.

As a result, the Department evaluated staffing levels to determine present SCSW to CSW span-of-control ratios, number of CSW/SCSW vacancies, and number of CSWs/SCSWs on leaves of absence. The Department also identified the regional offices with the highest number of SCSWs beyond the desired span-of-control ratio, and analyzed current staffing allocations in its Special Programs to determine if non-SCSW positions could be used in lieu of SCSWs to meet program needs.

Action plans for the Workgroup will include efforts to:

- Continue analysis of roles/responsibilities of SCSWs in specialized, non-case-carrying, or non-supervising units to determine whether redeployment to regional offices for traditional SCSW case-carrying use is a viable option;

- Develop a support and retention plan for SCSWs;

- Meet ideal SCSW to CSW span-of-control ratio of 1 to 5 (versus the 1 to 6 that is noted in the Department's 2018 Memorandum of Understanding with Bargaining Unit 777 - SCSW); and

- Acquire additional SCSW items to reduce caseloads for SCSWs overseeing units of CSWs.

The next SCSW Span-of-Control Workgroup meetings are scheduled for December 5, 2019.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is allocating all SCSW items in efforts to staff the Department in accordance with the ratios established in the 2018 Memorandum of Understanding, Bargaining Unit 777 - Supervising Children's Social Worker, Article 44 - Caseloads, Section 1.

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

Recommendation #10 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To strengthen and improve its quality control processes, by November 2019 the department should follow through on its plan to create a quality improvement division and increase the number of cases it regularly reviews.

1-Year Agency Response

As previously reported in the Department's 6-month response, the CQI Division Chief reported on October 16, 2019. Additionally, the Department successfully recruited and filled the 28 positions dedicated to the CQI Division by December 30, 2019.

In January 2020, the CQI Division immediately began to collaborate with various sections within the Department to further evaluate its case and referral review tools.

The first reviews began in February 2020 and were completed in March 2020. These reviews consisted of 300 referrals that focused on children ages five and under, who were the subject of six or more referrals with allegations of sexual and/or physical abuse.

The second round of reviews began in May 2020 with approximately 60 referrals being completed so far, and also focused on children ages five and under with five or less referrals and allegations of sexual and/or physical abuse.

These CQI reviews supplement the reviews that regional managers consistently conduct in their respective regional offices.

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

The department provided documentation that is has performed reviews of more than 300 referrals, and has a plan to continue to perform reviews of referrals.

6-Month Agency Response

The Department completed its feasibility assessment, and in October 2019, began moving forward with its plan to establish a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Division. DCFS selected and hired the CQI Division Chief and she reported to this new assignment on October 16, 2019. DCFS is working closely with the County of Los Angeles Department of Human Resources to employ its phased-in approach to expeditiously recruit and fill the 28 positions dedicated for the CQI Division by December 2, 2019. Upon the complete onboarding and co-location of all CQI Division staff, each DCFS regional office will have a dedicated CQI Children Services Administrator who will be charged with conducting on-going case reviews and partnering with the regional offices and other divisions to implement improvement strategies for increasing the number of case reviews. In addition, the CQI team members will evaluate practices and identify enhancements and/or necessary system changes that address operational issues to strengthen and improve present case practices.

In advance of full establishment of the CQI Division, in August 2019, DCFS convened a CQI Antelope Valley (AV) Strike Team consisting of 7 analysts to review cases and referrals in its two Antelope Valley (AV) Offices as a mechanism for identifying and addressing case management problems that are prevalent and persistent among social workers, supervisorial, and regional offices. The AV reviews were completed as of the end of September 2019. Components of the AV model will also be deployed throughout DCFS' regional offices.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is assessing the feasibility of developing a centralized Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) division and is in the process of obtaining the necessary County approvals to adequately staff the division. (The intent is to designate two Quality Improvement (QI) team members for each regional office to have multiple referral/case reviews occurring continuously.) The plan aligns the Office of Outcomes and Analytics (OOA), the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) unit, and the Quality Service Review (QSR) section with the newly formed Quality Improvement (QI) section under the new CQI division. Bringing the Department's teams that conduct referral/case reviews together will allow for a division structure that supports collaborative evaluations and analyses that help identify practice strengths, systemic barriers, areas to strengthen, and skill development targets to improve overall social work practices and outcomes for children and families.

The CQI division will synthesize and circulate lessons gleaned from referral/case Summary of Findings through CQI Lessons Learned modules.

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

Recommendation #11 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To strengthen and improve its quality control processes, by November 2019 the department should enhance the focus of its case reviews to not only include a review of particular case outcomes, but to also determine whether critical assessments are accurate and thorough.

1-Year Agency Response

In January 2020, the CQI Division collaborated with various DCFS sections to evaluate existing case and referral review tools that were being utilized throughout the Department. This feedback was incorporated into the newly developed referral review tools, which also included questions related to evaluating the quality and accuracy of assessments throughout the duration of a referral or case. A goal of the revision effort was to integrate elements gauging the level or standard of worker assessments while still maintaining the tool's ability to assess compliance with critical mandates that have a direct impact on child safety. The CQI Division managers in each of the regional offices began use of the revised tools on February 3, 2020.

It is important to note that the Department will continue to evaluate the efficacy of the review tools and will update, as necessary, to ensure it aligns with the CQI Division's goals.

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

The department's newly developed review tools appear to address qualitative aspects of cases and referrals, including the accuracy and thoroughness of critical assessments.

6-Month Agency Response

In advance of full establishment of the new Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Division, the Department has made efforts to enhance its case reviews to ensure that critical assessments are accurate and thorough. Components of the new review process have been initiated as a part of DCFS' efforts to address critical needs for the Antelope Valley (AV) offices. For example, this process included reviewing a random sample of 100 cases and referrals from each AV office and also doing an electronic case review of 20 referrals and 20 cases from both offices. The data was analyzed and a review report was published on September 26, 2019.

The new quality control process will be permeated throughout the Department. The CQI Division will evaluate case review tools currently in use and revise them as necessary to ensure case reviews conducted by that division include appropriate focus on SCSW functions, including critical assessments and other practice elements. These tools that will guide the case review process will be put into practice by the CQI Division, in collaboration with its Quality Improvement partners so together they can ensure consistency throughout our regional offices.

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

60-Day Agency Response

Upon establishment of the new Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) division, the division's managers will evaluate the referral/case review tools in use and build in, as necessary, additional components that examine the quality of Children's Social Worker (CSW) and/or Supervising Children's Social Worker (SCSW) assessments on investigations and casework.

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

Recommendation #12 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To strengthen and improve its quality control processes, by November 2019 the department should broaden its case reviews to include an evaluation of the quality of supervisor reviews.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021

The CQI Qualitative Review Tool containing the questions evaluating the quality of supervisory review will be implemented in October 2021. Departmental priorities prevented the implementation of the tool as planned during the month of August 2021. The questions specific to the quality of supervisory review will be consistently included in on-going reviews conducted by the CQI Division.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

We confirmed that the review tool described in the department's response includes a series of questions on the quality of supervisor review and was implemented in October 2021.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2021

To address the quality component of supervisory reviews, the Department assembled a workgroup with representatives from its Executive Team, Continuous Quality Improvement Division (CQID), Core Practice Model section, and other divisions to evaluate case/referral practices and assess existing review tools and practice guides. Consequently, CQID added a qualitative review process, to accompany the quantitative portion of the case/referral review tools. CSW and SCSW interview components will capture aspects of the quality of supervisor reviews. The following discussion points will be included to help assess supervisory interactions between CSWs and SCSWs on a given referral or case:

SUPERVISORY SUPPORT AND KNOWLEDGE

- Tell us about safety practice consultations/discussions between you and the SCSW regarding this family.

- Tell us about any safety-related work plans that were developed or changed as a result of these consultations.

- Describe any safety-related guidance provided to you by the SCSW regarding your work with this family.

Further development of these tools between now and June 30, 2021, will be done in collaboration and consultation with the Service Employees International Union. Upon finalization with the Union, the Department's CQID, along with the Department's Internal Controls Assurance Services (ICAS) section, will begin use of the updated review tools on June 30, 2021. The Department will strongly monitor implementation. Together, ICAS and CQID will present their findings to the Department's Executive Team, Regional Offices, and special programs, to promote meaningful, interactive, and engaging supervisory oversight and ultimately enhance the quality of services rendered to its children and families.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

In January 2020, the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Division collaborated with various DCFS sections to evaluate case and referral review tools that had been in use throughout the Department. Feedback was incorporated and the tools were revised; questions evaluating the quality of supervisor reviews were added. One goal of the revision effort was to evaluate practices and identify enhancements and/or necessary system changes to improve upon case supervision practices. The CQI Division managers in each of the regional offices began use of the revised tools on February 3, 2020.

It should be noted that the efficacy of the review tools is under continual evaluation, and that the tools will be updated as necessary to ensure the reflection of CQI's goals.

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

The case review tools and referral review tools submitted to us by the department include verification that the supervising social workers reviewed SDM tools and that any consultation with supervising social workers was documented, but they do not include a review of the quality of supervisor reviews.

6-Month Agency Response

Upon full implementation of the new Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Division, the Department will continue with its current efforts to broaden its case reviews to include an evaluation of the quality of supervisor reviews. Components of the new quality control review process was initiated as a part of DCFS' efforts to address critical needs for the Antelope Valley (AV) offices. In August 2019, DCFS assigned the CQI AV Strike Team to begin completing 100 case reviews and referrals for the two AV offices. These reviews, which were successfully completed in September 2019, included an assessment of the reviews conducted by supervisors at the regional offices and examined a number of practice elements.

DCFS has selected and hired the CQI Division Chief and she reported to this new assignment on October 16, 2019. The CQI Division will continue with the ongoing reviews of cases with a focus on the quality of the supervisor reviews and will partner with DCFS regional offices to implement strategies that support quality supervision and coaching, and enhance practices identified through regional case reviews.

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

60-Day Agency Response

Upon establishment of the new Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) division, the division's managers will evaluate the referral/case review tools in use and build in, as necessary, additional components that examine the quality of Supervising Children's Social Worker (SCSW) assessments and oversight on investigations and casework.

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

Recommendation #13 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To strengthen and improve its quality control processes, by November 2019 the department should establish a mechanism to identify and address case management problems that are prevalent and persistent among social workers, supervisors and regional offices.

1-Year Agency Response

In January 2020, the Department's CQI Division placed Quality Improvement Specialists (QISs) in each regional office and specialized case management programs. The CQI Division's enhanced referral review process began department-wide on February 3, 2020. In addition to conducting referral and case reviews, the QISs are responsible for sharing review findings with office leadership and staff to help each office identify and address systemic and regional case practice improvement opportunities.

In an effort to further target identified improvement areas, the CQI Division works collaboratively with its partners (e.g., Risk Management Division (RMD), CPM team, Training section and Policy section) to design protocols and train QIS staff on facilitating Lessons Learned modules at all regional offices. The modules are based on lessons and insights gleaned from evaluations and assessments in regional offices and special programs across the Department. The CQI and RMD team began offering co-facilitated Lessons Learned briefings for regional offices in February 2020. As an added support, QIS managers also attend monthly regional office leadership and general staff meetings to share key points from Lessons Learned.

The CQI Division began publishing a quarterly Lessons Learned bulletin in April 2020, which provides feedback to all staff on practice highlights from that quarter. It also sheds light on opportunities for improvement identified through the CQI Division's completed case reviews.

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

The department has revised its Case Review Tools to include a qualitative summary of the cases it reviews. As part of this qualitative summary, the department identifies systemic, policy, and practice concerns in the cases it reviews. The department then tracks the prevalence of those concerns and recommends solutions to address those concerns.

6-Month Agency Response

In advance of the creation of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Division, as part of DCFS' efforts to initiate a mechanism to identify and address case management issues that are prevalent and persistent among DCFS social workers and supervisors, in August 2019, the Department assigned a CQI Antelope Valley (AV) Strike Team to begin completing 100 case reviews and referrals for the two AV offices. These reviews, which were successfully completed in September 2019, included an assessment of the reviews conducted by supervisors at the regional offices and examined a number of practice elements. The reviews also evaluated the roles of supervisors and managers and identified case management issues to assist DCFS management in addressing the overall social work practices and outcomes for children and families within the AV offices.

Upon full implementation of the newly established CQI Division, components of the new quality review process will be utilized to enhance and/or deploy necessary system changes that will address operational issues to improve present case practices in all DCFS regional offices. Additionally, the CQI Division, in collaboration with its QI partner teams will focus on identifying systemic and regional practice improvement opportunities, which may include staffing level, span of control, and other human resource elements impacting practice. This will inform DCFS management in their monitoring of the number of staff in various positions, net staffing changes, vacancies, SCSW span of control, caseloads and the number of Emergency Response referrals open beyond the statutory 30-day State timeframe.

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

60-Day Agency Response

Upon establishment of the CQI division, the division's managers will evaluate the referral/case review tools in use and build in, as necessary, additional components that examine the Children's Social Worker (CSW) and Supervising Children's Social Worker (SCSW) practices on investigations and casework.

The Department's goal is to have the CQI division align the teams that conduct referral/case reviews together, so collaborative evaluations and collective analyses will help identify practice strengths, systemic barriers, areas to strengthen, and skill development targets to improve overall social work practices and outcomes for children and families. The Department is assessing the feasibility of designating two Quality Improvement (QI) team members for each regional office and have multiple referral/case reviews occurring continuously at any given point in time, to help identify real-time solutions that address regional practice issues. Having the local QI teams will create opportunities for ongoing feedback, support, training, and coaching for CSWs and SCSWs and strengthen the CQI division's ability to monitor the implementation of strategies and resolutions for identified needs.

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

Recommendation #14 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To strengthen and improve its quality control processes, by November 2019 the department should implement a tracking system to monitor the implementation and results of recommendations resulting from child-death reviews.

1-Year Agency Response

The planned enhancements to the Critical Incident & Fatality Tracking (CIFT) system that the Department's Risk Management Division (RMD) uses to track analyses and findings/recommendations stemming from child fatality/near fatality reviews have been completed.

Prior to the enhancement, RMD managers needed to take the information inputted into the Departmental Assignment Control System (DACS) by the regional offices/special programs and manually transfer the information into CIFT. CIFT now imports entries from DACS and enables RMD managers to use CIFT to oversee regional office/special programs responses to the recommendations. As a result of the upgrade, RMD managers can monitor efforts to improve practices and approaches to service delivery through CIFT without having to refer to DACS.

CIFT is duly functional as a tracking system to monitor the implementation of recommendations resulting from child death reviews. It has been determined that further integration of the DACS system features is not necessary for CIFT at this time.

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

The department has implemented the CIFT system, which includes areas for it to note and track action taken related to recommendations from the Risk Management Division.

6-Month Agency Response

As stated in the Department's previous response, the Risk Management Division's (RMD's) Critical Incident & Fatality Tracking (CIFT) database primarily tracks analyses and findings/recommendations relating to Child Fatality/Near Fatality reviews and is not well-suited for the purpose of tracking implementation of actions related to those recommendations. However, the Department utilizes a separate Departmental Assignment Control System (DACS) to assist in tracking implementation, as DACS allows for the uploading of reports, the entry of periodic updates, and the monitoring of strategies that regional offices use to address RMD's recommendations. RMD currently uses both CIFT and DACS to track recommendations and implementation, respectively.

The Department's Business Information Systems Division is actively programming enhancements to CIFT to allow for integration of DACS's implementation-tracking features. These enhancements will reduce the reliance of staff having to switch back and forth between the two systems continually while monitoring the implementation and results of recommendations resulting from child death reviews. A prototype of the streamlined CIFT system was approved by RMD and the system upgrade is slated for release in January 2020.

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

60-Day Agency Response

Currently, DCFS uses a tracking system called Critical Incident & Child Fatality Tracking (CIFT) to track data related to child fatalities and near fatalities and to automate the workflow of the DCFS Child Fatality/Near Fatality (CF/NF) team. In addition to tracking data (e.g. case practice strengths and missed opportunities, court involvement, case type, DMH involvement, etc.) which is used to inform the CF/NF team's resulting analysis, this system also tracks findings and recommendations. DCFS is working with BIS to further enhance the CIFT system to include better delineation of recommended action items, and to track the implementation of recommendations.

Additionally, the Department's Risk Management Division (RMD) developed a Lessons Learned Collaborations program to promote self-reflective work environments and explore strategies/practice tools that enhance critical thinking and support child safety and well-being. (The Department's RMD takes critical or reoccurring issues, themes, or practices from its death reviews and reconciles recommendations for best practice in Lessons Learned bulletins for its workforce.) Through three phases of Lessons Learned modules in each regional office, the Risk Management Division (RMD) coordinates interactive, collaborative training sessions that emphasize a culture of learning, facilitate skill development, and expand leadership capacity around evaluating case practices. Regional office participation in each phase is tracked and logged.

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

All Recommendations in 2018-126

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.