LAKE COUNTY – Despite a stern report by the Lake County Grand Jury on the management of the county's Social Services Department and its Child Protective Services division, one county supervisor is defending the agencies.
The grand jury's 2006-07 report, released Friday, took to task Social Services Director Carol Huchingson and CPS, which she oversees, for the handling of a 2005 child abuse case and the state and federal investigations that followed in its aftermath.
The abuse case involved two young boys from Nice who were abused by their mother's boyfriend, Tony Wayne Hernandez, then 23.
Hernandez was sentenced to nine years in prison last year for severely beating the older child, age 4, and sending him to the hospital with numerous injuries, most serious among them an injured liver, 11 broken ribs and missing fingernails.
That case generated a complaint to the grand jury about how Social Services and CPS handled the case. When the case first came to public attention, daycare providers and foster parents came forward to say that their reports to CPS on the danger to the children went unheeded.
The recent grand jury report also included a complaint from one of those care providers who had been attempting to adopt a child through the CPS system in fall 2005. She stated that she was later advised, verbally, by a Social Services staffer that her adoption application had been terminated because she and her mother had been a part of the negative publicity following the abuse case.
The grand jury eventually found that the decision was made according to state code, but it took them five months to get Huchingson to provide them with information on the case.
Prevented from seeing the records
As it investigated the handling of the abuse case, the grand jury found that the federal Department of Health and Human Services requested the state Department of Health Services investigate Lake County CPS and find out whether it followed protocols and how it investigated the reports of abuse.
The grand jury states in its report that, in order to “complete a balanced investigation,” it wanted access to the CPS records on the two abused children. County Counsel Anita Grant and then-District Attorney Gary Luck advised and assisted the grand jury as it began preparing petitions to the court in October 2006 to get the records.
Because of another CPS-related complaint investigation, the grand jury's records petition wasn't completed until March, at which time new District Attorney Jon Hopkins filed the petitions and represented them in Juvenile Court.
The petition was heard in April, with the Juvenile Court judge ruling the grand jury's request was too broad and not specific enough, according to the report.
Counsel representing Huchingson and Social Services argued against granting access, arguing that the California Department of Social Services was responsible for monitoring the local agency, and the grand jury “need not be involved.”
During this same time, the grand jury report noted it continued to receive CPS-related complaints, even with the state's oversight of Social Services and CPS.
Members of the grand jury's Public Health and Social Services Committee in May interviewed the bureau chief of the state's Department of Social Services Children's Services Operations, who followed up on the case and said the county agencies appeared to be operating satisfactorily.
But the grand jury said it has been unable to determine whether or not Social Services is, indeed, operating in accordance with state and federal policy, and is refiling its petition with the court to access the case records. One of its 10 recommendations on the case includes continuing the investigation during the 2007-08 grand jury's tenure.
In defense of Social Services, CPS
Supervisor Rob Brown defended Huchingson and her department, including CPS.
He said the county has received reports back from the state that show that any concerns have been resolved.
Those reports, he said, were relayed to the supervisors by Huchingson. Brown added, raising the issue of whether or not he and the board trust Huchingson.
For his part, Brown said he does.
And as to how CPS responded to protect the two children at the heart of the November 2005 abuse case, Brown said, “Unfortunately, there's not enough policies in place or laws in place to protect people against evil.”
Brown, himself a foster parent, said he knows personally about the efforts CPS and Social Services make to protect the county's children.
“Being the one board member who is involved in the foster care system, I have nothing but absolute confidence in CPS and Carol and her staff,” he said.
He said he works intimately with them, and has nothing but good things to say about the departments.
As for the grand jury's attempts to receive access to confidential documents related to the abuse case,
Brown said he's sure that has been a frustration for the grand jury, but says Huchingson is only doing her job in not releasing the documents.
He added that not even the Board of Supervisors has access to some of the information the grand jury is seeking.
“I don't believe for a minute Carol did anything devious” in preventing the grand jury access to the records, Brown said.
While it's the grand jury's mission to investigate issues, Brown said he doesn't agree with some of their findings or recommendations, which he says sometimes are unrealistic.
The little boys who were removed from their mother three times and returned to her custody before the 4-year-old was taken to the hospital with severe injuries didn't exactly fall through the cracks, in Brown's opinion. “The system that is in place by state law is not infallible.”
Part of that is because of the push to reunite children with their natural parents, he said, even when those parents have a history of problems. “That's not always good,” he said.
Brown added that he feels, in some cases, that the legal system treats abused animals better than abused children. Abused animals, he said, usually get new homes, with abused children all too often going back to the homes of those who hurt them.
Grand jury makes recommendations
The grand jury offers the following recommendations on the case:
The 2007-08 grand jury should continue the investigation.
The county should create a paid ombudsman position for CPS to deal with complaints and other concerns.
Create an independent advisory board to oversee CPS. The board would include one county supervisor, the CPS ombudsman, representation from the Children's Council, care associations such as Easter Seals, licensed day care providers and agency consumers.
The Board of Supervisors should “face head-on the staffing and management problems at Lake County CPS.” That includes assessing its performance and ensuring oversight of its operations.
Lake County CPS management should implement use of structured decision making software.
Develop a Court Appointed Special Advocates program to advocate for children in the court system.
Fill vacant social workers and implement a “realistic pay scale” to attract qualified staff.
Social Services should engage in “active recruitment” for vacancies, including working with local schools, offering signing bonuses and assisting current employees with tuition to pursue classwork to reach social worker eligibility.
Social workers should personally answer their phones.
Have the CPS after hours hotline work more quickly and efficiently to deliver emergency information. The line is answered by a phone tree, not individuals.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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