To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Nick Honey, 565-4343
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Recommended Action:
Title
Adopt a Gold Resolution designating the month of April 2022 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Sonoma County. (Countywide)
End
Executive Summary:
April is nationally recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month. As part of this national educational opportunity, the Sonoma County Human Services Department (HSD) and the Child Parent Institute 1) share information on child abuse and neglect prevention efforts countywide, 2) acknowledge Child Abuse Prevention efforts by raising the Children’s Memorial Flag at the County Center on April 28, 2022, and 3) request that the Board of Supervisors support child abuse prevention awareness and education by adopting a gold resolution.
Discussion:
Child abuse continues to be a critical issue in Sonoma County and child abuse prevention requires an ongoing and comprehensive community-wide effort. In 2021, the COVID pandemic continued to contribute to an overall decrease in the number of hotline calls that the Family, Youth and Children’s Services Division (FY&C) received to report child abuse from pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The decrease was likely caused by children being out of school, which resulted in less calls of concern by teachers and other professionals. However, the intensity of child abuse concerns increased during the pandemic - specifically, calls related to domestic violence, substance use and mental health issues increased in both number and severity.
As the pandemic shifted and children returned to school in fall of 2021, school staff and other traditional mandated reporters began once again seeing children routinely and the volume of hotline calls and investigations increased from the lowest point in 2020. 4,356 phone calls concerning child abuse or neglect were received through the Emergency Response Hotline and 1,776 of these reports required an in-person investigation. 640 reports were confirmed as rising to the level of substantiated child abuse or neglect - a 29% increase from the year prior. Many of these families received prevention services from social workers and community providers and resolved their safety concerns. Unfortunately, in 220 cases the situation was deemed so unsafe that children were removed from their home while parents were supported to address the safety issues. 103 children stayed at the Valley of the Moon Children’s Center at some point during 2021. Also in 2021, 95 children and youth returned to their families after parents participated in services and the safety concerns were resolved. Additionally, forever families adopted 26 foster children.
FY&C continued its Mandated Reporter Outreach training program in 2021 to share information with the community and increase awareness and reporting of child abuse. Nearly 200 individuals from a variety of community organizations, including schools, hospitals and law enforcement were trained in their role and responsibility as a mandated reporter.
The FY&C Division contracts with community-based providers to offer different child abuse prevention services designed to support the families who are investigated for potential child abuse and who have some risk factors, but do not rise to the level of requiring longer-term child welfare involvement. These families are offered specialized community-based services for therapy, parenting education, or resource assistance in order to create and maintain safe homes for their children. The contracts for prevention services total approximately $575,000 and utilize Children’s Trust Fund, Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, Community Based Child Abuse Prevention funds and Realignment funding. In Fiscal Year 2020-2021, approximately 120 families participated in contracted community-based prevention services.
The FY&C Division contracts with the Department of Health Services so that Public Health nurses can support investigations when severe medical concerns are part of the child welfare investigation. In partnership with social workers, these nurses work with hospital staff, interpret findings from medical examinations and diagnosis, and support parents with follow up for their children’s medical care to ensure child safety concerns are addressed.
In 2022, the Human Services Department is leading an effort to create a community-driven Child Abuse Prevention plan and create more equitable infrastructures and supportive services for all Sonoma County families. The Family First Prevention Services Act provides new funding to implement specific types of child abuse prevention efforts for specific at-risk groups. HSD is partnering with the community to empower partners to work together in the development of farther-reaching strategies to support families and reduce stressors.
HSD contracts with the Child Parent Institute to manage the Prevent Child Abuse - Sonoma County Council (PCA-SC), which coordinates the community’s efforts in child abuse prevention, service coordination, and awareness. The PCA-SC is authorized by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors under the authority of the Welfare and Institutions Code Section 18980, Chapter 12.5, Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council Act. HSD and PCA-SC have partnered since 2005 to provide information and engage community partners in child abuse prevention by offering quarterly trainings on topics related to child abuse prevention. During COVID, nearly 1,000 parents and community members participated in virtual trainings hosted by the PCA-SC and presented by national and local leaders on topics such as trauma-informed care and program development, relationship-based interventions, leadership and protecting children during COVID. Partners on the PCA-SC include First Five, faith-based communities, parents, local business leaders and community-based organizations.
In honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Child Abuse Prevention Council is hosting two virtual presentations designed to bring awareness to the issues of child abuse and educate, inspire and support professionals to work on behalf of children in our communities. The first event focuses on building healthy relationships and is titled “Teaching appropriate interactions, boundaries, self-advocacy and identifying coercion for people with disabilities”. This will be presented by Dr. Katie Pedgrift and Amy Machado on April 14, 2022 and will discuss how to support people with developmental disabilities to build healthy and meaningful relationships. The second event is “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Why it Matters when working with children and families” and will be presented by Dr. Sharon Washington on April 21, 2022. Dr. Washington is renowned for engaging diverse audiences on the complex intersections of race, historical trauma, social inequality and justice, and the impact of these factors on health and societal outcomes.
Also, in acknowledgement of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention, has asked that every county raise the Children’s Memorial Flag on Friday, April 28, 2022, as a way to close Child Abuse Prevention month activities.
Prior Board Actions:
In April of every year the Board of Supervisors declares April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Sonoma County.
4/20/21
4/21/20
4/16/19
4/17/18
4/11/17
4/12/16
Fiscal Summary
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Attachments:
Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None