COUNTY TO AUDIT CHILD SERVICES.Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and resignation. This is natural in any business and industry. Notes: . ``It has to be our top priority,'' said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. . ``There is a management challenge in DCFS DCFS Department of Children and Family Services DCFS Division of Children and Family Services DCFS Descriptional Complexity of Formal Systems (conference) DCFS Data Communication & Functional System that has to be confronted.'' Specifically the supervisors asked the county auditor-controller to investigate: Why the department's budget has increased by $200 million or 30 percent over the last three years; Why the number of DCFS cases has increased by 26,000 since 1991; Why overtime is being paid out at a faster clip than last year despite warnings from the board to curtail cur·tail tr.v. cur·tailed, cur·tail·ing, cur·tails To cut short or reduce. See Synonyms at shorten. [Middle English curtailen, to restrict such practices; Why so many caseworkers are quitting their jobs; How to reduce the number of caseloads assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. to each social worker; Whether the amount of paperwork caseworkers handle is necessary; Why the child abuse hotline is not answered promptly. Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said the number of children who are wards of DCFS has gone up from 47,000 when she joined the board in 1991, to 73,000 today. Burke said she was concerned that the department may be taking so many children into the system out of fear that the county will face a lawsuit if the department is too slow to act. ``We need an in-depth evaluation of why these numbers have increased,'' she said. Schuyler Sprowles, a spokesman for DCFS, denied the increase in clients has been driven by the department's fear of lawsuits. The numbers are going up because the DCFS continues to get more reports of child abuse and neglect, she said. ``It's a question of doing the math, when you have more reports, you're going to have more cases,'' she said. DCFS has had its share of problems in recent months. Last fall caseworkers went out on strike, demanding higher pay and a reduction in their caseloads and the amount of paperwork they have to complete. Although they have gone back to work, they are still without a contract. Attention has also been focused on the overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. and other major problems at MacLaren Children's Center, the county's home for children of last resort in El Monte El Monte (ĕl mŏn`tē), city (1990 pop. 106,209), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. A residential, industrial, and commercial city in the San Gabriel Valley, El Monte manufactures furniture, electronic equipment, semiconductors, . Valerie Harragin, chairwoman of labor negotiations for the caseworkers, said the audit will prove what the caseworkers have been saying for months about DCFS and its management under director Peter Digre. ``The caseworkers are leaving because the caseloads are too high. The paperwork requirements are unworkable. Most of the paperwork we do is to protect the department from liability, not the children,'' Harragin said. Digre said after the meeting that he welcomes the audit. ``I think it's a great resource,'' Digre said. Digre said he expects the overburdened o·ver·bur·den tr.v. o·ver·bur·dened, o·ver·bur·den·ing, o·ver·bur·dens 1. To burden with too much weight; overload. 2. To subject to an excessive burden or strain; overtax. n. 1. caseloads to be taken care of by hiring he will undertake within the next several months. On Tuesday, the board directed him to fill 306 vacant positions within the next 90 days. If he needs more caseworkers, the supervisors directed him to come back and ask for more funding. |
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