Report 2018-126 Recommendation 8 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 #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

All Recommendations in 2018-126

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.