|
Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children is core to Hennepin County’s work. The recent Casey Foundation report on child protection at Hennepin County, the Governor’s Task Force on the Protection of Children, and Hennepin County’s Comprehensive Review of Children and Youth Services together form a unanimous call to action: Hennepin County needs to change the way we do this.
Hennepin County benefits from an exceptionally skilled and committed Child Protection Services (CPS) workforce. If we follow the recommendations, CPS needs to support them (and hire more great people to join them); embrace best practices and a focus on child wellbeing with renewed vigor; and revision its culture to build trust and collaboration within Hennepin County and with the county’s many community partners.
A number of changes have been initiated internally. In addition, today the County Board finalized actions to:
- Hire 68 more social workers, 30 case support staff, and five attorneys
The County Board also instructed administration to:
- Create a data unit to compile statistics on CPS
- Improve early intervention responses for chronic neglect cases, cases screened out by CPS and cases closed by CPS
- Complete a comprehensive Workload Study for CPS staff
- Provide a comprehensive evaluation of the “Results-Only Work Environment” program for CPS, including consideration of changes at existing facilities as well as spatial planning for future buildings
- Make operational changes such that all child protection calls are received by county staff, during and after business hours
- Communicate to the board a list of social service providers used by CPS, with most recent annual expenditures for each agency
The County Board is also implementing an Oversight Committee, to oversee these and other longer-term changes. Changing culture, practice and focus is tough going – and urgent. As chair of the Health and Human Services committee, I look forward to the short and long-term recommendations that the oversight committee comes forward with.
I am pleased we have taken these actions, and will continue to push for key changes. Hennepin County remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of children.
|
