To: County of Sonoma 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): All
Title:
Title
Sonoma County Child Abuse Prevention Efforts and Gold Resolution to acknowledge April 2019 as Child Abuse Prevention Month
End
Recommended Actions:
Recommended action
Adopt a Gold Resolution designating the month of April 2019 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Sonoma County.
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 and the Child Parent Institute (1) share information on child abuse and neglect prevention efforts countywide, and (2) request the Board of Supervisors to support child abuse prevention awareness and education by adopting a Gold Resolution.
Discussion:
Child abuse prevention requires a community-wide effort. The Human Services Department partners with many community groups to reduce child abuse and neglect in Sonoma County. The Family, Youth and Children’s Services Division offers an array of prevention services programs to families with identified risk factors for potential child abuse. In 2018, the Division also continued to educate and train community professionals who are Mandated Reporters in child abuse prevention and reporting. They included teachers, police, fire fighters and health care professionals.
Of the 6,465 phone calls concerning child abuse or neglect received through the Emergency Response Hotline in 2018, 2,434 reports required an in-person investigation and 502 reports were confirmed as rising to the level of substantiated child abuse or neglect. Many of these families received prevention services from social workers and community providers while the families remained intact. In 236 cases, the situation was deemed so unsafe that children were removed from their home while parents addressed the safety issues. Also in 2018, 135 children and youth returned to their families once their home were determined safe and 51 children were adopted by forever families.
The Family, Youth and Children’s Services Division partners with community-based providers to offer a variety of child abuse prevention services designed to support the families who are investigated for potential child abuse, 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, housing, parenting education, health education or resource assistance to support families in maintaining a safe space for their children. The contracts for prevention services total approximately $600,000 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 2018, 110 families began services; 85 families that began services in 2017 or 2018 completed services and met or partially met their goals upon closure of services while an additional 70 families that began services in 2018 were continuing to receive services at the end of the calendar year.
The Human Services Department also contracts with the Child Parent Institute to manage the Prevent Child Abuse - Sonoma County Council, which coordinates the community’s efforts in child abuse prevention, service coordination, and awareness. The Prevent Child Abuse - Sonoma County Council 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. The Human Services Department and Council have partnered since 2005 to provide information about, and engage community partners in, child abuse prevention by offering quarterly trainings on topics related to child abuse prevention. This has included trainings on Adverse Childhood Experiences and providing Trauma-Informed Care to families, as well as implementing the annual Blue Ribbon campaign and coordinating interagency partnerships through the Council to prevent child abuse.
In 2018, the Council continued to be focused on trauma-informed care as well as distributing information about child abuse prevention efforts and the impact of child abuse in Sonoma County through various forms of social media and trainings. In April, Child Parent Institute will also be offering free parenting classes community-wide in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The Council works with a number of community partners to host the annual Blue Ribbon Training and Luncheon. This year, the luncheon will be held on April 18, 2019 in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. The luncheon begins at 12:00 p.m. and will be held at the Friedman Event Center, located at 4676 Mayette Avenue in Santa Rosa. The keynote presenter for the luncheon is Mia Birdsong, a nationally-renowned motivational speaker. Ms. Birdsong has spent more than 20 years fighting for self-determination and highlighting the brilliant adaptations of everyday people. In her current role as co-director of Family Story, she is updating this nation’s outdated picture of the family in America. The resolution designating April 2019 as Child Abuse Prevention Month will also be presented at this luncheon.
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 26, 2019, as a way to close Child Abuse Prevention month activities.
Prior Board Actions:
April 17, 2018 - The Board of Supervisors declared April 2018 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Sonoma County.
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
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Attachments:
A. Resolution
B. Informational Insert on Sonoma County Child Abuse Prevention Efforts
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None