Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-19-1994-X-A 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Item No. X—r4 Meeting Date: April 19, 1994 SUBJECT: Community Child Protection Report ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING YES: NO: X ------------------------------- ---------------------------------- ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: I. CCPT Annual Report Marti Pryor-Cook, ext. 2802 II. CCPT Members III. COPT Children's Services Sub-Committee Report TELEPHONE NUMBER- Hillsborough - 732-8181 Chapel Hill - 968-4501 Mebane - 227-2031 Durham - 688-7331 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: To receive an annual report from the Community Child Protection Team (CCPT) . BACKGROUND: The Community Child Protection Team (COPT) was established in accordance with Executive Order #142 in September of 1991. The original purpose and composition of the team was further formalized and expanded by General Statute 143-576 on July 1, 1993. The CCPT is an interdisciplinary group of community representatives who meet regularly to promote a community-wide approach to the problem of child abuse and neglect. Team members work together to identify gaps in services for abused and neglected children; to advocate for needed resources where gaps and deficiencies exist; and to encourage system improvements. Membership on the team is mandated by General Statute and must include public and non public agency representatives. The Board of County Commissioners may appoint a maximum of five members to represent various county agencies or the community at large. The CCPT is in a unique position to encourage community involvement in the prevention of abuse and neglect and in the protection of children at risk. As such, the team is required to submit an annual report to county commissioners which contains recommendations for improving child protection in the county. RECOMMENDATION(S) : The County Manager recommends acceptance of the report from the Orange County Community Child Protection Team. 2 Orange County Community Child Protection Team Report to the Board of County Commissioners Recognizing the dramatic rise in the number of children reported as abused and neglected as well as the increase in tragic deaths due to maltreatment, Executive Order 142 was issued on May 1, 1991. This order outlined initiatives to strengthen services for these children, one of which was the establishment of Community Child Protection Teams (CCPT) across the state. The CCPT is an interdisciplinary group of community representatives which meets bi-monthly to promote the development of a community-wide approach to the problem of child abuse and neglect. The specific responsibilities of the team include: 1. To review selected high risk cases to assist the Department of Social Services (DSS) in evaluating allegations of child abuse or neglect and in planning and providing services to prevent further abuse and neglect. 2. To review fatalities suspected to have resulted from child abuse, neglect or dependency; to identify whether gaps and deficiencies exist in the community child protection system and to assist DSS in the protection of surviving siblings. 3. To submit and annual report to the Board of County Commissioners which contains recommendations, if any, and advocacy for system improvements and needed resources when gaps and deficiencies exist. The CCPT includes representatives of public and non-public agencies in the community that provide services to children and their families and other individuals who represent the community. Attachment II identifies the members of the team. The Orange County CCPT met several times initially for training and then began to review cases as well as the child protection system. In 1993 the CCPT established a Children's Services Sub-Committee to identify gaps in service delivery for children. The Sub-Committee focused on the need for and benefits of preventive services for "at risk" families. Gaps in direct services were identified. The Sub- Committee then examined the potential for existing programs or new initiatives to address the gaps and barriers. Attachment III is a copy of this report. The CCPT review of cases has indicated that the Department's response to reports of child abuse and neglect is timely, children are seen promptly, appropriate decisions are being made, and children identified as "abused" and/or "neglected" are receiving i 3 services. The State Division of Social Services' Biennial Review of the agency's Child Protective Services (CPS) Program (November 1993) concurred with this assessment and Orange County DSS received the highest rating which was "Exemplary" (95.73% compliance with standards) . However, problems were identified which include: 1. Continual CPS staff turnover resulting in on-going vacancies and insufficient staff to do the work; 2. Increased demands on remaining staff to perform critical assessments and make decisions in a limited time frame, and 3 . Less than optimal follow-up time with lower risk families to ensure that they pursue other services available in the community. In addition, the COPT is concerned that many families who could benefit from DSS services are not offered services because they have not been determined to be "abusive" or "neglectful" . DSS is not staffed adequately to meet this need. Based upon the review of protective service cases, the needs of children and families in our community, and the State Division of Social Services' Biennial Review, the Orange County Community Child Protection Team makes the following recommendations. 1. An adequate number of trained child protective services social workers must be available to respond to reports alleging child abuse and or neglect as well as to provide comprehensive follow-up services. A thorough assessment of risk of harm requires time, experience,and skill. 2. Methods for providing support to child protective services staff need to be explored to address staff turnover. 3. In order to increase the competency and skills of existing staff, on-going training must be available to staff and they need to have time available to participate in the training. 4. The supervisor - social worker ratio needs to be reduced to provide minimally adequate support and supervision to the child protective services social workers. The CCPT believes it is critical that these recommendations be addressed in order to ensure adequate protection for the children of Orange County. 4 (Orange ClTountg Pepartnunt of S' arial Serflires ' P.O. BOX 8181 .� HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278 t7 !x' TELEPHONE: 919-732-8181 EA.2800 +6� �`•„�� 688-7331 Ext.2800 227-2031 Ext.2800 968-4501 Ex1.2800 Martha Pryor-Cook 967.9251 Ext.2800 Director CHAPEL HILL OFFICE: 968-2000 DSS Community Child Protection Team Members Ms. Martha Pryor-Cook Department of Social Services P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Ms. Denise Shaffer Department of Social Services P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Ms. Patricia Clarke Department of Social Services P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Ms. Sharon Lee Department of Social Services P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Ms. Gloria Taylor Department of Social Services P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Ms. Beachy R. Sanders Department of Social Services P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 300 W.TRYON STREET, HILLSBOROUGH 410 CALDWELL ST.,CHAPEL HILL J 1 5 community child Protection Team Brian Curran, Investigator Chapel Hill Police Department 828 Airport Road Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 Gerald Castle, Investigator Orange County Sheriff's Department 144 E. Margaret Lane Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Cheryl Parker, Investigatorial Assistant District Attorney's Office 106 E. Margaret Lane Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Bernice Wilson School Social Worker Orange County Board of Education 200 E. King Street Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Desmund Runyan, M.D. , Dr. P.H. UNC-CH Department of Pediatrics CB #7225, Medical School Wing C Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 Eileen Kugler, Personal Health Services Director Orange County Health Department 300 W. Tryon Street Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Gloria Williams, Executive Director JOCCS P.O. Box 27 Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312 Carol Duncan, Children & Youth Coordinator Orange-Person, Chatham Mental Health Center 333 McMasters Street Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516 1 6 Ralph Wenger, Coordinator of Student Services Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Lincoln Center-Merritt Mill Road Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516 John Turner, Dean UNC School of Social Work 223 E. Franklin Street Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3550 Donn Hargrove, Chief Juvenile Court Counselor P.O. Box 60 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Bonnie Davis Community Representative P.O. Box 307 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Chris Nutter Community Representative Maple View Farm Dairy Land Road Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Karen Kliebenstein Chapel Hill Exchange Club President 1526 E. Franklin Street Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 Rev. George Allison DSS Board Chair P.O. Box 261 Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Joyce K. Moore, R.N. , M.P.H. UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Pediatrics 207 Bolin Creek CB#3415 Chapel Hill, North Carolinna 27599-3415 Gretchen Aylsworth, Director Guardian Ad Litem Program 3 Briarbridge Lane Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516 7 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHILDREN'S SERVICES SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY CHILD PROTECTION TEAM December 16, 1993 Since the last report of the Children' s Services Sub- Committee which was submitted to the full Community Child Protection Team on April 15, 1993, several additional members joined the sub-committee. These include: Denise Shaffer, Gloria Taylor, and John Turner. The report of April 15, 1993 and a complete list of sub-committee members is attached. The sub-committee met three times on April 29, 1993, May 26, 1993, and November 17, 1993. Discussion at the meeting on April 29, 1993 centered around developing a working definition of "preventive services" and consideration of ways to deliver these services. Preventive services were defined as services which are necessary to build capacity in at-risk families so that they can learn to function competently in order to prevent the negative social and other types of consequences which lead to their referral to the Children' s Protective Services system. The model preferred by the sub- committee for delivery of these services is one with a strong outreach component. Programs currently in operation and which seem to be making a difference were considered. These include: the Fast Track program in Durham which increases parental involvement for at-risk children in 1st grade and tracks their progress longitudinally; also, the Maternity Care Coordination (Baby Love) and Child Service Coordination (CSC) programs which provide case management and early intervention services to pregnant women and their children. The sub-committee felt that, in order to maximize the preventive approach and to utilize scarce resources wisely, it may be best to begin intervention in the prenatal period and to expand the Baby Love and CSC programs to serve more families by increasing eligibility thresholds. Discussion during the meeting on May 26, 1993 focused on possible strategies which could be used to quantify the gaps in direct service delivery and.-service delivery system barriers identified in the April 15, 1993 report. A draft survey tool was developed and piloted on a limited scale. The intention was to distribute the survey to school counselors, staff of the various human service agencies, police, courts, and day care professionals. Due to time constraints, we were unable to pilot the survey to school personnel, as we had planned, prior to the summer recess. In addition, the sub-committee experienced difficulty continuing its work during the Summer and early Fall with vacation schedules and members being involved in initiatives such as Smart Start. 8 Children' s Services Sub-Committee Report Page 2 At its meeting on November 17, 1993, the sub-committee reviewed its charge and its work to this point. As part of this process,, we reviewed the report from April 15, 1993 which included the "serious gaps in direct services" and "service delivery system barriers" which were identified by the sub-committee. A discussion ensued about how the human service delivery climate has changed in Orange County since the sub-committee began its work. The sub-committee feels _ that new initiatives such as Carolina Access, Smart Start, Carolina Alternatives, and Communities in Schools, among others, could address several of the gaps and barriers under consideration. These include: -inadequate/inaccessible primary medical care for children and adolescents Carolina Access Smart Start Health Department Adolescent Clinics at Hillsborough and Carr Mill Mall Sites -lack of transportation, lack of quality day care resources, lack of parenting education for parents not in the CPS system Smart Start -lack of alternatives to conventional mental health services, such as therapeutic group homes (Greenhouse) , day treatment/education options, in-home support Carolina Alternatives -confidentiality requirements which contribute to unsatisfactory communication among service providers, duplication of services, confusion for clients, etc. New legislation allows DSS to share information with others on a need-to-know basis -inadequate capacity of case management system for coordination of preventive services Smart Start for children 0-5 years old Communities in Schools for older children Expansion of Baby Love and Child Service Coordination Programs -the need for a comprehensive service center for preventive services Communities in Schools Children' s Services 9 Sub-Committee Report Page 3 The sub-committee has three primary concerns about current services and any new services which may be developed out of the new initiatives. These concerns are: 1) that attention be given to increasing case management services; 2) that attention be given to decreasing access barriers to services in general; and 3) that transportation to services be made available to those who need it. The sub-committee wishes to highlight two additional ' Points. First, we feel that there is currently a lack of support for families and children on the community level. Many families feel isolated and that they must "go it alone" . In the process of program development and enhancement, it is important to involve people at the level of neighborhoods and small communities who may have valuable insights about the problems encountered by families and the solutions to these problems. We encourage agencies, schools and other organizations to work together with communities in addressing the issues and problems which face children and families. Secondly, the role of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in assisting Orange County programs working to address the needs of children and families should be further explored and possibly expanded area of training for human service workers rinctherfield.the The sub-committee decided not to proceed with the collection of data on the quantification of needs, i.e. the survey mentioned earlier in this report. The sub-committee is aware of several other assessment efforts being conducted at this time and thought this would be duplication of effort. The Children' s Services Sub-Committee respectfully recommends that the Community Child Protection Team forward written recommendations, such as those contained in this report, to the various initiatives so that they will have this information to factor into their plans for funding and for program development. At this juncture, the sub-committee has determined that our charge has been fulfilled and suggests that the Community Child Protection Team monitor the progress of the various initiatives in meeting the needs of children in Orange County and reconvene the sub-committee at some point in the future as it deems necessary. Respectfuylep,��Chair ubmitted, Eileen Ku csscrptek#1