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Concerns for abused children at Santa Clara County's intake center
Two Santa Clara County Supervisors are calling for a moratorium on placing children at the county's intake center. This is where at-risk kids would go after being removed from an abusive home. The supervisors say the facility isn't doing enough to keep those kids safe.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (BCN/KTVU) - Two Santa Clara County supervisors on Wednesday called for an immediate moratorium on child intake at the county's Receiving, Assessment and Intake Center.
Supervisors Dave Cortese and Cindy Chavez said in a news release that they believe the county should place a moratorium on accepting children into the RAIC facility, operated by they county's Department of Family and Children's Services at 725 E. Santa Clara St. in San Jose, "because they no longer believe the children are receiving the care and supervision they need."
"At Committee meetings, we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about the RAIC and called for reforms," Cortese said in a statement. "One of those reforms, the common-sense separation of younger children from older children, has not been followed."
The supervisors will propose the moratorium to the board at its meeting next Tuesday and ask that county staff report back with alternative
options for at-risk county children by Nov. 19.
"We are also concerned about the health and safety of our County staff as they deal with a challenging mission," Chavez said in a statement.
The county's Department of Children's Services was recently reorganized without negotiations with the county's workers' union, Service
Employees International Union Local 521.
The department's reorganization led to allegations by SEIU Local 521 of unfair labor practices by the county at the same time the union attempted negotiations for new contracts.
The allegations and lack of new contracts led to consecutive days of strikes earlier this month, with hundreds of workers walking off the job
throughout multiple county departments.
A new contract agreement has still not been reached.