MORT ROSENSTEIN: Merger plan would be bad for kids

Published online on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

The proposed merger of Fresno County's Department of Children and Family Service with Employment and Temporary Assistance with the goal of consolidating administrative functions and reducing management positions is very reminiscent of the formation of the Human Service System, which was put into place about 1999-2000.

This combined four departments and removed administrative functions to a separate department.

This effort only lasted two to three years and then required considerable effort to restore the management functions for each department.

The current proposed merger is very similar in structure and reasoning for making this proposal as a means of reducing administrative costs.

This totally ignores the mission of these departments and dilutes their ability to provide the attention to the services that they are charged with carrying out.

The DCFS has made major steps in their goal of providing the best care and progress, developmentally and educationally, of this fragile group placed in their care.

The education success and graduation rate of foster care youth has improved markedly. The programs for youth aging out of the system have provided them with the skills needed to live on their own and not be "put out on the street at age 18."

The adoption of the Family to Family programs and philosophy and the total buy-in by the DCFS staff and administration has been instrumental to the success of this program.

The DCFS has received recognition and funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and is the demonstration site for the western states. There are programs in place to address the unique problems of infants from age 0-6 and also of foster youth who are parents or currently pregnant.

All of these improvements are due to the skill and dedication of the leadership of DCFS. Their being able to pay full attention to growth and progress is necessary to continue the services to the children and youth that they serve. I would not like to see these positive changes diminished by a merger with a larger department that has an entirely different mission. I can foresee a repeat of making changes and then undoing them later.

A second area addressed in these changes is to separate Children's Mental Health from DCFS and place it with the Department of Behavioral Health.

This change was addressed at a community forum in September 2006 and after careful, serious discussion, it was decided not to make this change.

There is a totally different mission of these two departments, i.e. the mission of the adult department is treatment of "severe mental illness."

This is very difficult to carry out with the limited resources and the closure of facilities. The disorders encountered and treated are different than in the children's arena.

The main emphasis of children's mental health is "identification and early intervention." This is very different from adults and success in these areas is essential in improving the quality of life for the youth. Success at this point can have an important lasting effect on the care needed in the future.

There is a higher percentage of the population in the foster care community that requires mental health intervention due to the circumstances that have led them into the out-of-home situation. These needed appointments can have an adverse, disruptive effect on the youth's school time.

The ability of the CMH to have practitioners on the school campuses is beneficial by causing less disruption to the school day and better compliance and decreased missed appointments.

I am very much involved with youth as a participant and observer dealing with foster youth, delinquent youth and children with special needs.

I am very impressed with the progress that is being made and I would not like to see these proposed changes occur without careful attention to the potential adverse effects they would cause.