October 4, 2007

County Report

County social workers protect children

When police respond to calls at homes

By Supervisor Ken Yeager
Special to the Times

One of the most important issues facing Santa Clara County is properly protecting children during police calls. When law enforcement officers respond to a call at a home, they not only need to resolve the situation, they also have to address family concerns and look out for the best interests of the children. The county now sends social workers on such calls to take care of the family while police handle safety concerns.

When law enforcement officers previously received calls involving children in unstable or abusive home situations, the officer often would have no other choice but to arrive in a marked police car and place the child in county custody for his or her protection.

Any child who is removed from his or her home situation suffers the stress of being transported to new surroundings and placed in the care of unfamiliar hands. Once the child is placed in county custody, parents or other family members have great difficulty getting the child back to the home. Santa Clara County, however, has taken extra steps to reduce that stress and prevent unnecessary removal of children. Our county is the first in the state to coordinate a joint effort among all law enforcement agencies and county social workers to help protect children.

Social workers with the county Department of Family and Children’s Services now accompany law enforcement officers when they investigate calls at homes where children are present. A social worker is available to respond to such calls 24 hours a day and can reach any location in the county within 45 minutes, often in less than half an hour.

When law enforcement responds to a call where a child is present, the child often does not need to be removed because the child is not being harmed or neglected. Instead, social programs and social workers can monitor the situation in a majority of cases and solve some other family issue.

Social workers are trained to assess home situations in ways that police officers may not be able to do as thoroughly. When the child is a bystander to another family problem, and if the social worker can correct that problem, there may be no need to remove the child and cause unnecessary stress.

Police officers, deputy sheriffs and CHP officers respond to many calls every day. When they spend their time working on issues best left to social services professionals, they spend less time performing other duties. With a social worker attending the family, the law enforcement officers who acted as the first responders to the scene can return to their beats or field other calls.

This innovative Enhanced Joint Response Program acts as an example for other California counties seeking ways to respond to these cases with care. Since the program began, nearly half of the children involved in calls have been diverted from county custody. Thanks to the social workers’ support, more than 60 percent of those children who remain in the home regain the stability with their family.

Social workers also bring with them cultural and linguistic training to help them deal with all families that make up our diverse community. By speaking in the language that the family is most comfortable using and by understanding the cultural pressure these families face, social workers can reduce the overrepresentation of children of color among all children who are removed from their homes.

Law enforcement officials from every jurisdiction in the county — city police, the sheriff’s department and the California Highway Patrol — have been working with county social workers to protect children. Since Santa Clara County began the program by joining with the San Jose Police Department in 2004, the county is now proud to have all cities and law enforcement agencies participating. Thanks to the agencies working together, we can reduce the costs of unnecessary child removals and temporary home placements, and social workers on the scene can provide families with immediate services that can keep children safe in their home environment.

Please feel free to contact my office any time. You can call me at (408) 299-5040 or e-mail me at Ken.Yeager@bos.sccgov.org.