Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
03/28/2007 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: Ocs System Improvements and Challenges | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 28, 2007
1:36 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bettye Davis, Chair
Senator Joe Thomas, Vice Chair
Senator John Cowdery
Senator Kim Elton
Senator Fred Dyson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Overview: Office of Children's Services Improvements and
Challenges
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Karleen Jackson, Commissioner
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in presentation
Tammy Sandoval, Deputy Commissioner
Office of Children's Services (OCS)
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in presentation
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR BETTYE DAVIS called the Senate Health, Education and
Social Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:36:18
PM. Present at the call to order were Senators Thomas, Cowdery,
Elton, Dyson, and Chair Davis.
^PRESENTATION: OCS SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES
CHAIR BETTYE DAVIS announced the presentation of the OCS system
improvement and challenges.
KARLEEN JACKSON, Commissioner for the Department of Health and
Social Services (DHSS), introduced herself and Tammy Sandoval,
and said that she would give a briefing of the history of the
review, and Ms. Sandoval would talk about the results of the
review.
She said that over a four-year period ending in 2005, there were
four different leaders of the Office of Children's Services
(OCS) and a certain period of instability. In 2005 Ms. Sandoval
took over the agency; since then stability has improved. The
office decided to plan for the future and examine its
relationship with its citizen review panel. The OCS subsequently
chose to bring in a consultant, from a group that provides
technical assistance for all 50 states, to look at the OCS's
organization, its community involvement, and policy procedure
and training. The review was completed in November 2006, at
which point the Department of Law advised on how to best
disseminate the information. The report contains a substantial
amount of information, and has been made available to various
branches of the government; it will help make a plan for
improvement for the OCS. Social workers have one of the hardest
jobs in the state of Alaska.
1:43:43 PM
TAMMY SANDOVAL, Deputy Commissioner of the OCS, said that the
office had the contractor look at four different areas of
interest in the OCS. There was an online employee morale survey
conducted, focus groups were consulted, and individual
interviews took place.
She said that the things found to be in most need of improvement
are employee inclusion in decision making, trust, and openness
and communication. On the other hand, most staffers say that
their job motivation is high, they receive good job support, and
want to perform well. Other positive findings included
forthrightness in participation, mutual support within offices,
and support of the new work assessment model. Communication is,
however, inconsistent in various arms of the OCS, and decision
making and policy are not transparent enough. Problem employees
are not sufficiently dealt with and training is inadequate,
salaries are too low, and degree requirements are too high.
She continued to list recommendations from the surveyed
employees, and issues the OCS is going to address and is
currently addressing: improvement in communication, the
continuation of the survey process, safety assessment, and
retention and recruitment. The resolution of even minor issues
is also necessary to help workers in the OCS have smoother
workdays.
1:52:29 PM
She explained that the second report deals with community
relationships, which are often the most visible elements of the
OCS. Interviews were conducted with statewide agency heads and
with clients around the more populous areas of the state. The
report indicates that the work of the OCS is generally
positively viewed at the regional and statewide levels. Line
staffers, however, are often slow to return phone calls to
clients; the office's work in general is appreciated, but some
elements of service delivery must be improved.
She said that several key agency heads expressed concern over
the Mat-Su regional offices and their lack of cooperation with
community agencies. The OCS's work with tribal communities has
improved, but could still do so further. Recommendations
included retention of staff, improvement of the public image,
and improvement of community relations; supervisors are key to
this.
She said that action taken by the OCS so far has included
missives sent out to the statewide staff, annual surveys,
improved confidentiality measures within the department, and a
FAQ forum on the OCS website. It has worked extensively on
improving the option of placing Alaska Native children in
tribally-licensed foster homes as well.
2:02:09 PM
She said that the third report examined policy and procedure
throughout the entire abuse or neglect case review process;
clarity of evaluation and the written elements of OCS reports
were evaluated. The evaluation found that policy can be written
in confusing ways, written reports were not always clear, and
there were too many assumptions in policy that would be unclear
for a new worker due to complexity, obscurity, or other factors.
She continued to explain the faults found within OCS policy by
the report, including ineffectual guidance and direction, non-
policy requirements, out-of-date wording, and the need for a
philosophical base for the OCS.
2:08:29 PM
She said that the report recommends rewriting the policy rather
than correcting it, and establish a method for reviewing policy
drafts to be sure that they meet criteria and effectively
provide direction, regulation and support. Necessary correction
of these faults will take a lot of time and a high level of
effort; a plan hasn't been outlined yet, but it will be made
soon.
She explained the last element of the report, which looked at
the new OCS employee training program, Training and Orientation
for New Employees (TONE). The training on information collection
was found to be too general and the curriculum was not specific.
Although TONE does promote a holistic look at OCS care, it tends
to be too focused on the legality of issues instead of family-
oriented care. On the whole, the training is unclear, too
general, and needs to be improved.
2:12:54 PM
She said that the report also showed a too-vague relationship
between safety assessment decision and the resulting safety
planning; the report recommends the adoption of the Safe
Families Act, which is what the federal government uses to
measure efficacy. The federal government will come to the state
in 2008 to evaluate the OCS, so the same foundation logic should
be used. The mission of safety planning should also be made more
apparent in the curriculum, and case management should be better
explained.
She said that the OCS has been working on these issues in the
past year and they have been steadily improved with the help of
a TONE advisory group. The OCS is also utilizing information
from other states' new worker training programs to improve its
own.
2:16:58 PM
MS. JACKSON thanked the committee again for its interest in the
OCS, which helps the office continually improve itself.
Confidentiality is a major concern, but it shouldn't be a reason
for reduced or limited service. The OCS is also looking for ways
to better work with community partners and have open discussions
in the spirit of improvement; there is lots of work to be done
on the office in the future.
2:18:57 PM
SENATOR ELTON said that he's not an expert on the OCS but thinks
the office is very important. He's pleased to see it taking the
advice of the reports, but he's bothered by the extent of the
issues facing the OCS because it will limit their powers for
helping children. He asked how it would be possible for the OCS
to improve itself without hiring more staff.
2:21:12 PM
MS. JACKSON said that part of the dilemma is that funding too
many new positions would overwhelm the system; existing workers
need to be retained and improved more than new workers need to
be recruited.
2:22:31 PM
MS. SANDOVAL said that there are many things in the OCS that can
be improved, mostly communication with local partners; the
culture of the organization needs to be improved most
immediately. Training can be a burden on the organization, so
retaining current staff is the most important issue currently.
SENATOR ELTON said that it seems to him that staff burnout and
turnover are real problems, caused by having staffers do too
much while being paid too little. He said that he doesn't
understand how better communication can happen without more
personnel; as the report showed, interest in the job isn't the
problem, but rather the overwhelming work load. He suggested
giving people more assistance in the offices so they feel less
overwhelmed in their jobs.
MS. JACKSON said that there are some positions open currently,
and those need to be filled first. Even with unlimited
resources, staff additions might not be able to be put to
effective use.
SENATOR ELTON said that the tourism industry, for example, asks
for money right away rather than waiting for better preparation.
2:27:39 PM
CHAIR DAVIS said that she understands both sides of the issue,
and agreed that the existing structure needs improvement before
new people are hired. The OCS feels that it has a lot of
pressure on it, and now with the reports it will become more
prepared and ready for change. The agency is on the cusp of
positive change, and is moving in the right direction. Lots of
people in the agency feel that their jobs are important, and so
the agency has a lot to work with. She asked if the agency is
more prepared for the upcoming federal assessment than it was
for the previous assessment in 2003.
MS. SANDOVAL replied that the OCS is better prepared and focused
now, even though there is room for improvement in family
outcomes.
2:31:29 PM
SENATOR COWDERY asked for the differences in staff and frontline
workers' backgrounds.
MS. SANDOVAL explained the difference in necessary degrees for
three different positions within the OCS.
SENATOR COWDERY related a personal story of his staff's
experience with case workers, and asked if the OCS still offers
field experience opportunities.
MS. SANDOVAL replied that it does.
SENATOR COWDERY said that the OCS has a reputation of
inefficacy, but it still is a positive entity and people should
judge for themselves.
2:35:51 PM
CHAIR DAVIS said that there's a concern about overrepresentation
of minorities in the system, and asked what the office is doing
to change this.
MS. SANDOVAL said this issue is a huge priority for the OCS, and
that she thinks it's a relatively new issue to the social work
field. The office is learning new activities that look at racism
throughout the leadership and front-line levels; it's a hard
subject, but the OCS is facing it head-on and is involving
tribal partners and all interested to be part of the cultural
sensitivity training advisory group.
CHAIR DAVIS said that that's good, but she's more concerned
about the prevention of abuse. She asked if there's any
prevention system in the OCS for working with kids still living
at home.
MS. SANDOVAL said that she's been trying to improve this area
for the last 22 years, and it's her main priority. It's one of
the elements of the new safety model, and distinguishing the
line between at-risk and unsafe environments is important for
the agency. Removal from the home should be a last resort for a
child.
2:41:34 PM
CHAIR DAVIS asked if there are any options for improving this
area through grants, and said that Ms. Sandoval could respond to
her later. She added that she is impressed with the OCS's candor
in talking about the report.
MS. SANDOVAL said that the OCS has been presenting the new
safety assessment model and the results of the reports to
different public agencies.
SENATOR COWDERY asked what percentage of abuse issues are
alcohol or drug-related.
Ms. SANDOVAL said the number is huge, if not exact.
2:43:19 PM
SENATOR ELTON said he would like to know how long it takes to
fill an OCS position, and why it takes a particularly long time.
He said his recollection is that the Alaska OCS has a higher
case load than other states.
CHAIR DAVIS thanked the OCS for its good work and efforts for
improvement, and asked if there are any policy changes that need
to be made.
MS. SANDOVAL said that she couldn't think of anything at the
time and that too much can't be done in too short a period of
time. The agency needs to catch up on current issues before
making new changes.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Davis adjourned the meeting at 2:46:21 PM.
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