Mendocino County Family and Children Services in ‘Crisis’

Mendocino County’s Family and Children’s Services is in a state of crisis. That is according to an assessment by the Northern California Training Agency at UC Davis, as well as the department’s employees, who say they are overworked and receive no help in dealing with the stress and emotional burden inherent to the job.

In the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, UC Davis and county Health and Human Services Agency employees presented the finding that the department has been suffering for several years, pointing out harmfully low retention rates and burdensome caseloads for its social workers, resulting in low morale.

Mendocino County has the highest rates of children in foster care in the state, according to more than one survey, like one from 2015 by Kidsdata.org. That study estimates a rate of 12.3 per 1,000 of the county’s children in foster care, higher than Los Angeles County’s rate, 7.6.

The number of children in the county with allegations of abuse and neglect is 1,844 (the number of those with substantiations is 329), according to 2016 data from the California Child Welfare Indicators Project.

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http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/general-news/20170419/mendocino-county-family-and-children-services-in-crisis