DATE: September 13, 2016
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Delfino E. Neira, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Presentation on Child Abuse Prevention Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Receive presentation by the Department of Social Services on Child Abuse Prevention Services
REPORT
The presentation will provide your Board with information on child abuse and neglect in Fresno County and strategies to enhance child abuse prevention services to increase family stability and decrease the incidence of abuse and/or neglect.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action.
DISCUSSION:
The presentation will provide your Board with information on child abuse and neglect and the Department's intended strategies to decrease its' prevalence in Fresno County.
In 2015, the Department of Social Services received 13,844 referrals on families that alleged child abuse or neglect. The Department investigated 8,336 referrals and opened cases involving 1,172 children (14%). Eighty-six percent (86%) of those referrals did not meet the legal threshold for the Department's intervention; however many of these families remain at high risk for subsequent allegations of child abuse or neglect and represent a critical target population for prevention services.
As a result of significant research and planning, the Department intends to implement two major strategies that will focus on the above-referenced target population. First is the implementation of Differential Response services. The second is a renewal of efforts to expand the number of Neighborhood Resource Centers in both rural and metro Fresno. These two strategies in tandem support access to community resources and interventions which promote family stability and community networks. These strategies will constitute the cornerstone of the Department's prevention plan in 2017 and in subsequent ye...
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