Report 2018-126 Recommendation 6 Responses

Report 2018-126: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services: It Has Not Adequately Ensured the Health and Safety of All Children in Its Care (Release Date: May 2019)

Recommendation #6 To: Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services

To ensure that its staff appropriately use SDM assessments to identify safety threats and risks, the department should incorporate SDM instructions into its policies and procedures by July 2019 and provide mandatory annual SDM training for applicable staff, supervisors, and other members of management by May 2020.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021

The Department continued to offer the SDM Foundational trainings through September 2021, and will continue to require SDM Foundational trainings for newly hired CSWs and SCSWs quarterly. In addition, sessions for SDM "Leading Decision Making in Investigations" will be offered starting in September 2021 to ensure all managers are in compliance.

Beginning in September 2021, DCFS and Evident Change will train leadership and line staff, on the use of SDM Risk and Reunification Reassessment tools to determine when it's safe to reunify or close the case. The SDM Safe Transitions for leadership training started September 28, 2021, with an additional 12 sessions scheduled. The SDM Safe Transitions for staff will begin on October 27th and 28th and continue through 2022.

In addition, the Department is developing two mandatory SDM Refresher Webinars for CSWs, SCSWs, and ARAs. The first webinar is slated for November 18, 2021 and the second one in February 2022. These webinars will be recorded and made available to all staff to complete annually.

1) SDM Foundational Training continues as on-going for new CSW

2) SDM Safe Transitions for Staff goes through December 2022.

3) SDM Safe Transitions for Leadership goes through June 2022.

4) SDM Webinars are on-going noting access via and LMS. The 2nd virtual session is targeted for February 2022.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2021

To ensure staff appropriately use SDM assessments to identify safety threats and risk, DCFS continued the rollout of its SDM "Leading Decision Making in Investigations" and held 20 virtual sessions of the training from May 18, 2020, through October 15, 2020. Additionally, DCFS began offering virtual Foundational SDM trainings on July 2020, and held 111 training sessions through April 2021. The Department will continue to offer the Foundational trainings through August 2021, and will continue to require SDM trainings for newly hired CSWs and SCSWs.

On March 23, 2021, DCFS began a refresher plan with DCFS and Evident Change (formerly NCCD) leading a Coaching Session with select Emergency Response (ER) ARAs and Core Practice Model Coach Developers. Participants developed skills around consultation with line staff to ensure appropriate use of SDM safety assessments and safety planning. In addition, select ARAs will lead mandatory peer learning sessions for all ER ARAs and all Coaches located in Regional Offices.

In November 2021, DCFS and Evident Change will train leadership and line staff, on the use of Risk and Reunification Reassessment tools to determine when it's safe to reunify or close the case. These trainings are currently under development; however, once they commence they will continue until December 2022.

In addition, the Department will develop a mandatory SDM Refresher Webinar Series for CSWs, SCSWs, and ARAs. This webinar is slated for a November 2021, launch and will be available for workers to complete annually.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

As indicated in the 6-month response, the Department began rollout of its SDM "Leading Decision Making in Investigations" training on January 22, 2020, for Executive Leadership, Regional Administrators, Division Chiefs, Assistant Regional Administrators, and SCSWs. Eight of 20 scheduled sessions were held before stay-at-home orders were enacted in Los Angeles County due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department worked with the National Council on Crime & Delinquency (NCCD) to redesign the trainings for remote learning, which is scheduled to start in later May 2020.

On February 5-7, 2020, the Department held a 3-day "Train-the-Trainers" session for the SDM Foundational Safety and Risk Training designed for CSWs and SCSWs. DCFS Training managers worked with their trainers to improve their SDM knowledge and ability to train this curriculum.

As mentioned above, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Department having to restructure trainings for remote learning, and therefore, previously scheduled SDM trainings were modified and extended. The first session of the 2-day SDM Foundational Safety and Risk Training for CSWs and SCSWs was scheduled for April 1, 2020, however, was postponed as a result of COVID-19. Redesigned remote learning sessions are slated to start in July 2020.

The new projected completion date is now March 2021.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

As previously reported, Structured Decision Making (SDM) instructions were incorporated into an SDM policy on June 24, 2019. Additionally, updates were published to the "Disposition of Allegations and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals" on August 8, 2019, as further detailed in the Recommendation #7 update.

Children's Social Workers (CSWs) continue to receive SDM training in their core curriculum and specially trained "SDM Champions" in regional offices provide information and support to their peers.

Efforts to roll out additional SDM trainings have been held pending resolution of regulatory and statutory issues related to SDM Risk Assessment recommendations for High and Very High Risk referrals with unfounded or inconclusive dispositions; the issue is namely with opening a case without a substantiated referral. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) has provided DCFS with guidance and DCFS, along with other California counties, have requested and are awaiting additional direction from the California Department of Social Services.

Upon resolution, training for Managers and Supervisors will begin in early 2020, followed by trainings for SCSWs and CSWs. Trainings will include: "Leading when Decision Making" to orient staff to proper SDM use; "SDM Safety and Risk Foundational Training: Training for Trainers," to provide DCFS staff with skills and knowledge to train on SDM; and "SDM Safety and Risk Foundational Training" to teach proper use of SDM assessments in practice. The anticipated completion time is November 2020.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The Department issued a For Your Information (FYI) bulletin titled "Timely Submission and Approval of Structured Decision Making (SDM) Tools" on May 29, 2019 delineating due dates for the various SDM assessment tools for Children's Social Workers (CSWs) and Supervising Children's Social Workers (SCSWs). The FYI includes guidelines for SCSWs on how to evaluate case documents and records to gauge proper use of the assessment tools, and provides links to additional resources for further clarification on SDM use.

The Department issued a policy on June 24, 2019, titled "Structured Decision Making (SDM)" with guidelines regarding the different SDM assessments. It provides specific procedural instructions and includes information covering the following sections:

- Safety, Risk, & Reunification Assessments;

- Substitute Care Provider (SCP) Safety Assessment; and

- Family/Child Strengths and Needs Assessments.

With respect to training, new CSW hires receive extensive SDM training as a component of their DCFS foundational Core Academy when their tenure begins with the Department, in accordance with the State's Common Core Curricula mandate. For current staff, the Department launched an SDM training campaign in May 2019 starting with its Child Protection Hotline (CPH) workers and regional office Assistant Regional Administrators (ARAs) through sessions titled, "Using Structured Decision Making Assessments in Case Consultation: A Review of Best Practices". The Department hosted 10 sessions through July and the next phase of trainings are slated to begin later this year with Initial SDM System Re-Orientation training sessions, followed by Advanced SDM Supervision and Management Trainings. While a plan for subsequent refresher trainings is under development, the Department is working with regional "SDM Champions" to hone and develop SDM skill sets so they can serve as SDM resources and guides within their respective offices.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

All Recommendations in 2018-126

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.