Report 2015-115 Recommendation 16 Responses

Report 2015-115: Dually Involved Youth: The State Cannot Determine the Effectiveness of Efforts to Serve Youth Who Are Involved in Both the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems (Release Date: February 2016)

Recommendation #16 To: Santa Clara County

To identify their population of dually involved youth, Santa Clara County's CWS and probation agencies should designate the data system they will use for tracking the dates and results of joint assessment hearings.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021

Absent a "unified data system", the County of Santa Clara formally recognizes the multiple systems and points of data collection related to dually involved youth within the DIY Initiative. The County of Santa Clara acknowledges that interagency collaboration and communication are essential to seamlessly serving dually involved youth and their families. As a result, the County has enacted Local Rule 3, which reaffirms the County and Court's expectation of ongoing communication amongst the system partners throughout the entirety of a youth's dual involvement.

At the current time, the dates and results of joint assessments are recorded individually by both DFCS and Probation and data is shared mutually for validation, reporting, and evaluation purposes, however no joint system is developed, nor is one expected to be developed absent any state designed mechanism.

The state however recently added a data field specifically for DIY youth within CWS/CMS, which DFCS is reviewing to determine accurate alignment of definitions of the terms used in the designated drop down fields allowing staff to enter data into CWS/CMS. There are still gaps in the data field collection system in CWS/CMS, as not all cases are covered in the options. Additional work is needed to determine proper administration of use across the department for staff that are working with such youth but who are not in the specialized unit. A determination has yet to be made as to whether multiple staff will enter DIY information into CWS/CMS or only designated staff for whom training will be provided as needed.

For the foreseeable future, the involved departments continue to work in strong partnership, in regular communication and the joint, development of reports, and tools used to monitor all youth involved in DIY.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement

We stand by our recommendation that Santa Clara County's CWS and probation agencies should designate the data system they will use for tracking the dates and results of joint assessment hearings. By formally designating a data system for tracking information on joint assessment hearings, the county could better ensure the correct categorization of its dually involved youth.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2020

County of Santa Clara's Dually Involved Youth Initiative (DIY Initiative) is an innovative and ambitious multi-system endeavor to positively transform the lives of youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems by focusing on providing a continuum of supports and services for youth. These supports and services are designed to identify and address the challenges youth are confronted with which have led to initial or prolonged system involvement. The County's Dually Involved Youth Protocol specifically addresses the multi-system collaboration, information sharing, and process related to the DIY Initiative. Absent a "unified data system" The County of Santa Clara formally recognizes the multiple systems and points of data collection related to dually-involved youth within the DIY Initiative. The County of Santa Clara acknowledges that interagency collaboration and communication are essential to seamlessly serving dually-involved youth and their families. As a result, the County has enacted Local Rule 3 which reaffirms the County and Court's expectation of ongoing communication amongst the system partners throughout the entirety of a youth's dual involvement. In the present state, the dates and results of joint assessments are captured in multiple systems with the institutionalized expectation of communication and data sharing amongst system partners. In order to increase the veracity of the County's data as it relates to the dates and results of joint assessments, the Social Services Agency is implementing the inclusion of these data points into the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS). It is the expectation that following the current evolution of State and local case management systems that a system source of record will be identified, and interfaces developed for the efficient and secure sharing of said data.

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

Per Santa Clara County's response, it will not fully implement this recommendation until July 2021.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From December 2017

There is no one unified system identified by the State to document in the manner that is indicated in the report. CWS has a state-mandated database, and Probation uses a separate database for all cases, except for those cases involving placements, which are contained within the CWS database. In order for jurisdictions to have a required unified database, additional resources and more interoperability between the databases would be necessary.

In the meantime, Santa Clara County has developed expected outcomes and sixty-eight (68) data variables to track that are anticipated to speak to these outcomes. However, Santa Clara County is in the early data collection phase, and sufficient time has not yet elapsed to evaluate all of these expected outcomes.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement

We stand by our recommendation that Santa Clara County's CWS and probation agencies should designate the data system they will use for tracking the dates and results of joint assessment hearings. By formally designating a data system for tracking information on joint assessment hearings, the county could better ensure the correct categorization of its dually involved youth.

1-Year Agency Response

Santa Clara County has declined to provide its 60-day response, 6-month response, and 1-year response to its dual status audit recommendations.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Will Not Implement

Despite our efforts to work with Santa Clara County, it has declined to provide any responses to the audit's recommendations.

We stand by our recommendation that Santa Clara County's CWS and probation agencies should designate the data system they will use for tracking the dates and results of joint assessment hearings. By formally designating a data system for tracking information on joint assessment hearings, the county could better ensure the correct categorization of its dually involved youth.

6-Month Agency Response

Santa Clara County did not provide a 6-month response; however, we look forward to Santa Clara County's 1-year response due on February 25, 2017.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: No Action Taken

Santa Clara County did not provide a 6-month response; however, we look forward to Santa Clara County's 1-year response due on February 25, 2017.

60-Day Agency Response

Santa Clara County requested a 30-day extension for its 60-day response, but it did not provide a response.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken

We look forward to Santa Clara County's 6-month response due on August 25, 2016.

All Recommendations in 2015-115

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.