Monterey County Social Services makes changes after child abuse deaths

UPDATE 1/21/15 5:30 PM:

As the state continues its investigation into the deaths of two children in Salinas, Monterey County Department of Social Services announced some changes. The announcement was made during a Health and Human Services Committee meeting on Thursday, the first since 3-year-old Delylah Tara and 6-year-old Shaun Tara were found dead in a Redding storage facility in December.

Authorities said the children were killed at the hands of their caretaker, Tami Huntsman, and her companion, Gonzalo Curiel. The Department of Social Services had the family on its radar. It is protocol for the state to conduct its own investigation after a child in the system dies.

Elliott Robinson, the director of Social Services, said he’s open to any changes that will help protect children in the future.

“We always embrace the opportunity to make sure our efforts to protect children are as strong as possible,” Robinson said. “So, we’re looking forward to the state review, and we’ll work hard to implement and monitor whatever their recommendations are.”

Investigators were in Monterey County earlier this month, looking at how the county deals with child welfare referrals and investigations.

In the meantime, the department is implementing changes of its own. While trained social workers already answer the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline, starting next week a supervisor with experience in the unit will be brought back to provide more support and training.

“We thought it was a very good idea to bring in a very experienced supervisor who had several years supervising that unit to give us the assurance that we want as a department and as a community that front end of our system, which is the first place where many children and families come into contact with Child Protective Services is as strong as we can make it,” Robinson said.

Next Tuesday the department will ask the Board of Supervisors to consider hiring more staff, specifically an additional social work supervisor, six more social workers and a social services aide.

County Supervisor Fernando Armenta, who is also on the committee, said he has a lot of questions. He will have to wait to get the answers once the state’s report is released next month.

“With county counsel’s permission and in a confidential setting, to ask the director of Social Services, ‘If anything went wrong, how much of that can you tell me? If anything, which I don’t know, was there a lack of supervision? Was there a lack of oversight? And if there is, to what extent was it there? And even if you would’ve had all those social workers in the world, and you were overstaffed, which I don’t know, could something like this still have occurred?'” Armenta said.

Robinson said the state has conducted a review in Monterey County only one other time. Years ago a child died in foster care. Since then, the department made changes. Specifically, the number of children, whether biological, adopted or fostered, who can be in one family at one time.

ORIGINAL POST:

Changes are ahead for theMonterey County Department of Social Services.

On Thursday, the department’s director briefed the Health and Human Services Committee about steps his department is taking in light of recent events, specifically the deaths of two children in Salinas. Delylah and Shaun Tara were under the care of Tami

Huntsman when they were killed. Huntsman is charged in their deaths.

Director Elliott Robinson says his department working to strengthen the department’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotlines by assigning a supervisor to provide additional support and training to existing staff. He is also planning to hire more staff with money from the state.

Robinson is also awaiting a review from the California Department of Social Services, which focused on the Tara case. The results of that review are expected next month.

NewsChannel 5’s Mariana Hicks will have more details tonight.