February Program Agenda

The Council meets on the second Thursday of each month at 8:00am at the
Alpert Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted.

Program:

"DCFS:  To Take a Child or Not - The Intake Decision Making"

Speaker:

Tim Varvais, M.A. M.S.
Assistant Regional Administrator, DCFS

I have been with DCFS for the past 12 years. My education began in nursing school and I subsequently was a nurse for 17 years in an Emergency Room.  I then received my BA in Psychology from USC and an M.S in Marriage Family Therapy from Cal State Dominquez Hills. I currently am a psychotherapist in the south bay.
I also obtained an M.A in theology from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. I am the manager over the intake and investigation process for our South County office. We investigate all referrals called into our Child abuse Hotline alleging child abuse/neglect for the South County district.
My time as a Social Worker, Supervisor and now Assistant Administrator in the South County/Lakewood office has allowed me to develop a passion for protecting children and working with families to bring change into their lives.  I am firmly committed to promoting a strength-based social work practice for new and existing Children's Social Workers (CSWs) in Los Angeles County.

Topic Summary and key points:

I will address reasons why we decide or not decide to remove a child/or open a case, discuss types of abuse/neglect, and look at how we look at Safety vs. Risk in LA County; also, we will discuss some reasons why we now do practice social work differently than we used to.

Points:

• Preference of voluntary cases, outside court purview when possible (keep kids, services, and cases in communities vs. having court mandate what we do rigidly, generically; we can be more creative with case plans, have less legal/statutory requirements, improved problem-solving)
• Some agencies like to use court to "motivate" clients, but we have found that we have had more success & cooperation with families and service providers, when they feel they are partnering with us rather than being told/ordered what to do. (Voluntary=reasonable efforts)
• Importance of DCFS/agency teamwork (some agencies, esp. Wrap, "advocate" for clients at court and argue against DCFS recommendations; communication is vital). The community responsibility can help keep kids in their homes and communities.
• We will discuss child safety versus child risk

Casey's Family to Family Initiative (i.e TDM's):

Launched in 1992, Family to Family is working to improve child welfare outcomes in 17 states by advocating for more children to remain safely with their own families or a family-like connection and by providing opportunities for redesigning and reconstructing foster care systems.

At its core, Family to Family applies 4 basic principles:

• A child's safety is paramount;
• Children belong in families;
• Families need strong communities; and
• Public child welfare systems need partnerships with the community and with other systems to achieve strong outcomes for children.

All children need and deserve a family for life (permanency), as well as the highest quality of services that ensures, above all, their safety and well-being.

SDM = Structured Decision Making. A set of standardized, evidence-based assessment and decision tools used in LA County (and many other CA counties) and 19 other states in the US and Australia. These tools are designed to help staff make the best possible decisions for cases, and to provide managers with information for improved planning, evaluation, and resource allocation.  It is now the most widely used case assessment tool in the U.S.

Opinions expressed are those of the speaker and not necessarily those of the Council and its membership.
For information about End Abuse Long Beach, please visit www.EndAbuseLB.org or contact the Program Chair:
Paul Sharpe (562) 434-1345 or email Paul@EndAbuseLB.org