Social workers press Santa Clara County supervisors to address system failures
South Bay social workers push to address failures in system
After a rough year filled with controversies and tumult, social workers pressed the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, to take action against the leadership of the beleaguered Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS).
SAN JOSE, Calif. - After a rough year filled with controversies and tumult, social workers pressed the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, to take action against the leadership of the beleaguered Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS).
"We are left without having staff to be able to do critical emergency response investigations regarding child abuse and neglect," said Pa Chang, a social worker supervisor and chief steward of SEIU Local 521.
About 40 union members who work for DFCS gave the elected leaders an earful during the morning meeting. They said their bosses have turned a deaf ear to complaints.
Union leaders said the department is suffering from 90 unfilled social worker positions, and the emergency response unit which handles child abuse claims is operating at half capacity.
"We don’t have the resources and the staff to be able to do thorough investigations for allegations of child abuse or neglect. We don’t have the support to be able to meet the critical deadlines," said Chang.
District 1 representative and board member Sylvia Arenas, said "This is a huge system that has been in trouble for a really long time. And so it’s gonna take some time for us to fix it."
Arenas said the board is monitoring DFCS leadership to ensure they are adhering to state-mandated changes, particularly following high-profile cases that ended in the worst way.
Over the past few years, two toddlers ingested fentanyl while their parents or guardians were already under DFCS scrutiny. Moreover, Morion Walker has filed a lawsuit against DFCS for not granting him custody of his 6-year-old grandson, Jordan Cam Walker, who in August 2023 was fatally stabbed by his uncle, who had recently been released from prison.
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Officials for DFCS said in a statement to KTVU, "We’re focused on doing what is right for children, including…carrying out the work plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors, and working collaboratively with all DFCS staff to help protect children."
However, some DFCS staff lamented that extreme staffing shortages and heavy caseloads are burning them out.
County leaders promised transparent reforms that would lead to systemic change.
"We’re always looking at leadership because leadership, obviously provides the kind of direction that we are going to take," said Arenas. "Do we have the right people on the bus? And really it’s because what we need to do is have some corrective measures the state is telling us to take."
The two-person board ad-hoc committee will lose Supervisor Cindy Chavez in a month when she leaves to take a job as a county executive in New Mexico. Arenas said another board member would replace her without the need for a reset.
This issue will be addressed again on Nov. 5 when supervisors look at recommendations from DFCS leadership to address state directives.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Instagram, @jessegontv and Facebook, @JesseKTVU.