Santa Clara County supe wants child services overhaul after baby's fentanyl death

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Santa Clara County supervisors plan to discuss overhauling the Department of Family and Children's Services early next year after a baby died of a drug overdose. 

On Tuesday, supervisors heard from social workers and medical professionals at a special hearing.

They were examining the death of Phoenix, a 3-month-old baby who died from ingesting meth and fentanyl, that belonged to her father.

Child welfare advocates blamed the newborn's death on failures within the county's social services system after they flagged the family for possible risk.

Supervisor Sylvia Arenas called for a restructuring of the system, stripping the Social Services Agency of its role in overseeing the county’s child protection agency and moving the county’s Department of Family and Children’s Services to report to a deputy county executive with a background in child welfare instead.

She said she asked the department to address her concerns, which she said they did not. 

"Because of that, I'm going to ask for some structural changes in order to improve the oversight of DFCS," she said. 

Arenas expressed anger at social services for not telling them that the state investigated the agency last year, regarding fewer children being removed from troubled homes in recent years.

Santa Clara County Social Services Agency Director Daniel Little testified that in his opinion, family unity – keeping families together – is a high priority.

"Removing children from families creates long-term harm," Little said.