Los Angeles County Self-Assessment Report

for high risk children and children from 0-3 years of age; all other children are to have
their initial medical examination within the first 30 days of initial placement. The Medical
Hubs offer forensic, medical and mental health expertise and assessment capacity 24
hours a day, 7 days per week. For Fiscal Year 2006-2007, there were a total of 14,631
visits to the HUBs by families served by DCFS. A seventh HUB is currently under
development.
The Linkages Project that is being implemented in L.A. County is another example of a
partnership that is designed to provide comprehensive, individualized services to
families to support them in achieving the linked goals of self-sufficiency and safety for
their children when being served by child welfare and Cal-WORKS. Through protocols
designed to enhance communication and case coordination between the child welfare
social worker and CalWORKS social worker, these two departments collaborate to
improve outcomes for at-risk children and families.
DCFS social workers conduct timely monthly visits to assess progress on case plan
goals and assess any issues which might affect the safety of the child. Policy states
that each visit shall include a private discussion with the child outside the presence and
immediate vicinity of the caretaker. The contents are not to be shared with the caretaker
unless the CSW believes the child may be in danger of harming him or herself, or
others, the CSW believes disclosure is necessary to meet the needs of the child or the
child consents to disclosure. The CSW is to then document in the CWS/CMS Contact
Notebook the fact that a private discussion took place. Supervising Children’s Social
Workers can then verify and continue to monitor the quality of the CSW’s visits with the
child. Data shows that the compliance with completing timely monthly visits has risen
by 5.4% since 2003, with the current compliance rate averaging 93%.
L.A. County CSWs also respond to child maltreatment referrals in a timely manner,
thereby increasing the likelihood that children and families are provided with a safety
assessment and services in order to avoid any potential repeat maltreatment. Data
shows that for those referrals that require an immediate response by the Department,
CSWs are able to complete their initial contact in a timely manner 97.2% of the time.
For those referrals that require a response by the Department within 5 days, CSWs are
able to complete their initial contact in a timely manner 96.6% of the time. It should be
noted that L.A.’s compliance with timely responses to referrals is greater than the state’s
as a whole. In addition, L.A. County’s policy on response times is stricter than the
State’s regulations.
50