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RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES | 77

Supported by Linkages of Child Welfare and CalWORKS Cases Through a collaborative initiative called “Linkages,” Riverside County families with Child Welfare cases and CalWORKs are receiving wraparound case management to build financial self-sufficiency while promoting child safety, permanency, and family well-being.

W hile poverty does not cause child maltreatment, the Child and Family Institute reports children living in poverty experience more incidents of maltreatment. Providing income support to their families can improve outcomes. The initiative aims to address poverty and strengthen the child protective capacity of families. Linkages client, Rosa, calls the program a “complete service” that changed her life. She was trapped in an abusive marriage, without a safe place to live with her children. As the abuse escalated and her older daughters witnessed their mom being “punched a bunch of times in the face,” Rosa says her confidence disappeared. One incident brought law enforcement to her door. A social worker with Child Protective Services came knocking soon afterward. The social worker told Rosa about Linkages, and she made the leap. Through cross-program collaboration in DPSS and Rosa’s commitment, she found the support she needed to gain independence. Today, she calls the home she shares with her children their “castle.” Among 38 California counties attending the Second Annual Child and Family Institute Linkages Convening in April, Riverside County Linkages was recognized for its innovation and delivery of services. Self-Sufficiency Regional Managers Felix Minjarez and Joy Go, along with Children’s Services Deputy Director Michelle Wohl presented at the Convening in Sacramento. Wohl and Self-Sufficiency Deputy Director Sandra Bowlan also shared Riverside County’s successful approach

to Linkages with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) in Washington DC that same month.

“This program has done wonders for our customers. It really makes me—and I am sure everybody else in the Linkages program—feel wonderful about what we do and how we help these families,” says Lisa Duran, an employment services counselor who works with families in the program. “Linkages is about keeping families together.”

I had my own social worker. She made me feel like a human, like someone really cares for me. I felt like I could do this. She doesn’t know me, but she believes in me … Me and my girls used to be homeless and now we have a house. I am a new person. It feels good. I am proud of the things I have done. — Rosa, Linkages client