September 9, 2005


County moves forward on Children’s Shelter reuse initiatives

By Supervisor Pete McHugh
Special to the Times

In 2000, the County’s Children’s Shelter consistently exceeded its maximum capacity of 132 children. This overcrowding made it more difficult for the county to maintain a safe environment for the children.

It also heightened concerns that some county residents had expressed about the appropriateness of the shelter as a placement option. These factors led the County’s Department of Family and Children Services to develop programs that place children more appropriately and faster.

During the past two years, these programs have successfully reduced the Shelter’s average daily population from 107 to 28 children. Although the shelter remains an emergency, short-term residence for a small number of children, much of its facilities were underutilized.

To discuss and recommend alternative uses for the shelter, county staff and community stakeholders formed a Shelter Reuse Committee in August 2003. The committee identified many community needs associated with families and children where using the shelter buildings could make an important difference.

After approximately six months of work, the committee recommended to the Board of Supervisors that the county focus on three main areas. These areas are educational support for foster youth, family mental health services and family visitation, since they have the greatest gap between need and current service levels.

At the June 2004 Budget Hearings, the Board of Supervisors allocated $240,000 from the Food Stamp Liability reserve for two pilot programs using the shelter facilities. DFCS began operating the programs in January 2005, in partnership with the County Mental Health Department and the County Office of Education.

One program offers family mental health services and the other provides educational support for foster youth. Also this year, the Department of Child Support Services began leasing space in its building to Community Solutions, which provides supervised family visitations in San Jose.

The Family Mental Health Program seeks to improve children’s mental health by offering enhanced screening, assessment, monitoring and coordination of mental health services. Mental health professionals at the shelter provide screening services within 24 hours to all children who experience a change in placement or removal from their home.

If needed, staff may complete a full mental health assessment and collaborate with the social worker, family members or other caregivers to formulate an initial care plan. To ensure the children’s quality of care, mental health staff will coordinate monthly meetings between service providers and stakeholders to monitor the status of the their treatment. The program also provides referrals for an array of community-based services, such as parenting education classes and family counseling.

The Educational Support for Foster Children Program provides strategies for improving literacy and attendance rates to help children achieve academic success within the traditional school setting. Specially trained teachers work with children, their caregivers, school personnel and community members to identify ways and resources to strengthen a child’s academic skills.

The program, called Success Camp, involves a three-day curriculum of interactive instruction and recreation specifically designed for children in the child welfare system. The curriculum also teaches children resiliency skills, which include coping, cooperation and self-management.

The county will evaluate the success of its pilot programs using four different performance measures: (1) increased number of children receiving mental health services, (2) increased resiliency skills, (3) improved understanding of what skills are needed to succeed, and (4) client satisfaction.

Although the pilot programs are still in the early stages of implementation, County staff already reports seeing positive impacts from these initiatives.

Since launching in January, more than 150 children have been enrolled in the Mental Health Program pilot. Of those enrolled, more than three-quarters have completed their mental health assessment, and more than half have completed or will soon complete Success Camp.

The county and the community have made an investment in the Shelter and we need to continue to use it. These two pilot programs support the overall goals of DFCS to enhance its services for foster youth and help keep families from re-entering the child welfare system.

As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I remain committed to keeping our children safe and healthy whether they are in their homes, schools or neighborhoods. I believe that children in the county’s child welfare system should be no exception.