Fresno County has some foster kids sleeping on office floors, tables. That’s unacceptable

The picture of Fresno County’s social services that emerges in a bombshell story is beyond ugly. It is downright unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to continue.

As reported by Bee staff writer Yesenia Amaro, the county Social Services Department has been housing some foster youth in the main office. That’s right: Children taken from parents deemed to be unfit are now sleeping on conference tables or the floor of the Child Protective Services’ office on L Street in downtown Fresno.

“Our department is not a good parent ... We have children staying in the office,” said Lorraine Ramirez, a veteran social worker in the child welfare agency. “They can be there for a couple of hours to a couple of weeks.”

Imagine the trauma endured by a child whose home life has been a wreck, only now to be taken by strangers to a nondescript office building and given a blanket. You can sleep on this conference table here, the child is told.

Don’t believe it? It does cause one to be incredulous — that is, until one sees the photos shared with Amaro by social workers who are fed up with the situation and wanted the public to see inside their usually hidden world.

In one, a small child is wrapped in a blue-and-white blanket, small pillow under the head, as the youth rests atop a conference table. An office chair sits at one end. Overhead lighting shines brightly.

Another photo shows a child under a similar blanket on the floor. A table is to the right; the child is resting next to a purple-colored hamper that is to the left. The child’s pink socks have dirty soles; red PJ bottoms emerge from under the blanket. A sign on the wall above the child says “Please read bag labels before opening and using.”

So why has this occurred?

Not enough homes

The short answer is there are not enough qualified local families to take in foster youth, particularly those kids with extensive needs. Until permanent homes approved by social services can be lined up, children are being housed at the child welfare office. There, the kids are fed fast food, share one bathroom and may not get showers.

How many kids are in the office can vary. Last Sunday, there were none. But three days before that, there were 12.

Adding to the stress, the children get mixed together, regardless of ages or behavioral and medical needs.

“The conditions that the kids are staying in is not tolerable, it’s inhumane,” Ramirez said. “If that was my grandchild or my child in there, I would be totally upset.”

The county Board of Supervisors was informed in August of the shortage of placement options for high-need children who require what is known as residential therapeutic programs.

The shortage exists because of a 2018 state law that reduced placement options for the “most challenged youth.” Additionally, last December, the state decertified all out-of-state facilities for high-need children.

Fix must happen fast

While those factors are significant challenges to Fresno County social services, there has to be a better way to house foster youth. There must be some empty county office space away from the headquarters of social workers that can be converted into more appropriate temporary housing.

Soon after this editorial posted online Thursday, county officials announced that, starting Saturday, they were going to put the youths into temporary quarters at the former University Medical Center campus at Cedar Avenue and Kings Canyon Road.

A new Clovis headquarters for social services is to open in a month, and County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau said it will include permanent housing for the foster youth.

He added that he only became aware of the problem on Wednesday — which is when Amaro’s story published. Why he was unaware of the August report is unclear.

Finding permanent housing is paramount. The August briefing noted that some of the youth being housed at the office have “disruptive, destructive and/or violent behaviors” that pose a risk to staff and the other children.

And state officials bear some responsibility, as well. The reforms that have come down in the last few years, as well intentioned as they may have been, have instead limited options for county officials in placing children with unique needs.

Assemblyman Jim Patterson, the Republican representing much of Fresno, said state officials have known about the problem at the county for a while. He sent a letter to the secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency and the directors of state social services and health care services, and asked them to “work with Fresno County leaders to ensure they have the resources and flexibility needed to ensure these children don’t spend another night on the floor of county offices.”

Delfino Neira, the director of the Department of Social Services, was unavailable to Amaro for an interview to give his perspective. What is left is the obvious: If he cannot quickly improve this sorry situation, the supervisors should hire someone who can.

The fact the supervisors have known about this since August, and have not yet forced improvement, shows poor leadership. Children, particularly foster youth, are among the most vulnerable of Fresno County’s residents. If this problem does not get addressed the right way, voters need to remember this episode when the current group of supervisors comes up for re-election, and ponder whether they deserve your vote.

This editorial was updated on Oct. 14 with new information.

This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.