2. MISSION AND GOAL
• The department’s mission is to promote a system of best practice in
partnership with the community, committed to prevention and early
intervention, that ensures child safety, permanence and stability, family
well-being, that is proactive, strategic, outcomes-based and fiscally
responsible to the children and families served.
• In order to fulfill this mission the employees of the department provide
assessment, intervention, prevention, placement, and mental health
treatment services to both the children and their families.
3. SOCIAL JUSTICE
• Child welfare is the main social justice issue at hand. The department was
put in place to seek justice for the child who are victims of abuse or
neglect and to keep the best interest of the children in mind no matter wha
4. POPULATIONS AT RISK
• The population the department serves is any child who falls under or is at risk
for falling under any of the California Child Welfare and Institution 300 codes
which include…
• (a) Physical Abuse: The child has suffered or will suffer physical harm which
was purposefully inflicted by parent or guardian.
• (b) General Neglect: Parent(s) or guardian of the child has failed to or is
unable to protect or supervise their child from harm or illness.
• (c) Emotional Neglect: The child is suffering serious emotional damage as a
result of the conduct of the parent or guardian or because the child has no
parent or guardian capable of providing care.
• (d) Sexual Abuse: The child has been sexually abused as defined in sub-divison
(b) of section 11165.1 of the penal code by a parent/guardian or member of
the household or the parent/guardian has failed to protect the child adequately
from sexual abuse when the parent/guardian reasonably should have known
the child was in danger of sexual abuse.
5. POPULATIONS AT RISK
• (e) Severe physical abuse of a minor under the age of five: A child under the
age of five has suffered severe physical harm by the parent/guardian or any
person known by the parent, if the parent knew that the person was physically
abusing the child, or the parent reasonably should have known that the person
was physically abusing the child.
• (f) Causing the Death of Another Child: A child whose parent/guardian
caused the death of any other child by abuse or neglect that can be filed on.
• (g) Cruelty: A child who has been subjected an act or acts of cruelty by the
parent/guardian, a member of the household or anyone else the parent failed
to protect the child from or that the person reasonably should have known
that the child was in danger of being subjected to an act or acts of cruelty.
• (j) Child at risk of abuse or neglect similar to that suffered by a sibling: A child
whose sibling has been abused as defined in subdivions (a, d, e, or i) or has
been neglected as defined in (b, d, e, or i) and there is a substantial risk that the
child will be abused by the same divisions listed above. The child’s age and
gender should be taken into consideration.
6. D.S.S. STRUCTURE
• In order to better assist our community, the department is divided into
different sections that are in charge of different aspects of child welfare.
Those areas include…
• Emergency Reponse (ER): This is the area where I am placed. This is the
place where the referral of abuse or neglect was made and where it is
investigated. After the ER worker investigates the referral they either close the
referral as unfounded meaning there was no evidence of abuse or promote the
referral to case if the abuse or neglect was substantiated meaning that the
referral allegations were true.
• Family reunification (FR): This area of the department receives cases in
which the children have already been removed from the home. The FR
worker’s responsibility is to try and offer services to the family in order to help
them reunify. After removal of the children parents have a limited amount of
time to reunify depending on the age of the child.
7. D.S.S. STRUCTURE CONTINUED…
• Family Maintanence (FM): This area is in charge of cases in which the
children reunified with the family. Most of the cases in FM have high risk
children due to the fact that they are back in the home with the
perpetrator. The FM worker continues to give services to the family in
order to ensure that they maintain the progress that they have made.
• Permanency Planning (PP): The social workers in this area are assigned
children that were unable to reunify with their families and whose parents
have lost parental rights. The main goal here is to find a permanent living
arrangement for that child. Adoption, legal guardianships, and long term
foster care are the main options for the children.
8. D.S.S. STRUCTURE CONTINUED…
• Independent Living Program (ILP): This area of the department
provides services to the probation and foster youth of the county ages 14-
21. The program provides these children a sense of belonging and equip
them with the necessary skills for self sufficiency.
• Adoption: Fresno county has its own public adoption agency in which its
priority is to ensure that all eligible adopted children, including those
relinquished and adopted through private agencies, have access to adoption
assistance funds to help support permanency in their adoptive families.
9. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
DEPARTMENT
• The department of social services, also referred to as CPS, is a very
important agency because it protects the rights of the children. Every child
has the right to a live a happy and healthy lifestyle free for harm or neglect.
• Social Workers in this department strive to do their best practice and
incorporate the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of
ethics in order to help assist the children in need.