Imperial County
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Serving Communities to Improve Lives
Main Line
(760) 337-6800
Fraud Hotline:
(442) 265-1191
24 Hour Child Abuse Hotline:
(866) 858-7750
24 Hour Adult Abuse Hotline:
(760) 337-7878
Children and Family Services
Adoptions
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This program component requires Social Worker to finalize the adoptions of children whose parental rights have been terminated which includes, but is not limited to, conducting monthly face-to-face visits with the children, preparing status review reports and ensuring the prospective adoptive parents comply with the adoption process. The adoption social workers are also each responsible for a post-adoption caseload. This caseload consists of children whose adoptions have been finalized and are eligible to receive adoption assistance.
Emergency Response
The Emergency Response (ER) Units are responsible for investigating Suspected Child Abuse, which encompass general neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and commercial sexual exploitation. Social Workers in these units respond to reports varying from immediate in nature to reports that require a 10-day response. The social workers identify the family’s need for intensive casework services and provide referrals to services available in the community to families, as deemed necessary. Social Workers conduct a comprehensive assessment pertaining to family dynamics, risk/safety, support systems, and assess all areas of maltreatment. ER social workers determine whether the families need preventative services or court intervention services to mitigate further risk of child abuse or neglect.
Family Support
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They are primarily community-based prevention activities for families. They are designed to alleviate stress and promote improved and positive parenting skills and behaviors that will increase the ability of families to successfully nurture their children and to enable families to use other resources and opportunities available in the community. These services are primarily provided through the Family Resource Centers.
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Family Maintenance
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Consists of time-limited services that are designed to provide in home protective services when the child can remain safely at home. The services provided may be court ordered or accepted by families on a voluntary basis.
Family Reunification
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This is a time-limited service to children in out-of-home care to prevent or remedy neglect, abuse or exploitation when the child cannot remain safely at home and needs temporary foster care while services are provided to the parents to reunite the family.
Betty Jo McNeece Receiving Home
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This is a 24-hour facility developed by community members over 25 years ago, in recognition of the need for temporary care and shelter for children. A fundamental goal of the Continuum of Care Reform is to limit the amount of time that children spend in care, especially within group homes or congregate care. The Betty Jo McNeece Receiving Home is a 10-Day Temporary Shelter Care Facility. The facility requires staff trained and certified by the California Department of Social Services, Title 22 Regulations. An Administrator Certification Program is legislatively mandated; designed and intended to upgrade the knowledge and educational levels of persons employed in a licensed shelter home.
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315 W McCabe Road
El Centro, CA 92243
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Permanent Placement
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It consists of providing alternative family structures for children who, because of abuse, neglect or exploitation cannot remain safely at home and who are unlikely to return home. These services are provided when there has been a judicial determination of a permanent plan for adoption, legal guardianship, or other alternate planned living arrangement.
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Independent Living
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The social workers under this component are responsible for minors receiving Independent Living Program and Extended Foster Care services. Social workers visit with the minors or non-minor dependents every month, prepare status review reports for the status review hearings, refer their clients to services and ensure case plan compliance. Furthermore, social workers are responsible in locating suitable placements for the minors, which may consist of resource family approval homes, foster family home, foster family agency certified home or short-term residential treatment program. These placements may require social workers to place minors out of state on an approved Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children or supervised independent living placement for non-minor dependents.
Resource Family Approval
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The preferred placement of children who require out-of-home care is with relatives. Under the Continuum of Care, Resource Family Approvals (RFA) are completed by social workers. The RFA is a family-friendly and child-centered caregiver approval process that combines elements of the current foster parent licensing, relative approval, and approvals for adoption and guardianship processes and replaces those processes. Children who require out-of-home care generally come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The juvenile dependency process involves a series of hearings and case reviews, which may result in caregiver placement, to include placement with relatives and non-related extended family members. Staff holding a Master of Social Work conduct the RFA for homes that care for children through reunification with parent caregivers or up to adoption. For more information click here.