DPSS Annual Report 24_25 FLIP v16_compressed

Children’s Services Division

pists recognized she needed a locked facility where she could not run when cravings overwhelmed her, yet she often disappeared into the streets for weeks or months at a time. Chloe’s casework ers worried constantly she would die out there, but they were powerless until she agreed to enter and stay in a program that could treat her. Unless a youth is placed into locked treatment through the narrow and com plicated conservatorship process, state law also allows foster youth 12 and old er to make adult decisions about their placement. Child welfare experts say youth in crisis are not capable of making such decisions while experiencing men tal health instability, significant drug use and other harmful behaviors. “Child welfare work in general is hard in and of itself,” said Bridgette Hernandez,

assistant director of the Children’s Ser vices Division. “Our frustration with the systems adds another layer. How we re spond to stress, trauma and reinvigorate ourselves is within our control. But the larger systems we have dealt with to get Chloe where she needs to be now, that is where the true frustration rests.” Hernandez and other child advocates in Riverside County are working to educate state policymakers about the complexi ties and challenges of laws that protect the autonomy of youth in foster care but can become significant barriers to safety in a crisis. They hope to see changes that will allow child welfare experts to take appropriate action when youth like Chloe are at imminent risk of harm or harming others. In January 2025, a multidisciplinary team of executives from Riverside County

Child welfare work in general is hard in and of itself. Our frustration with the systems adds another layer. How we respond to stress, trauma and reinvigorate ourselves is within our control. But the larger systems we have dealt with to get Chloe where she needs to be now, that is where the true frustration rests. — Bridgette Hernandez, assistant director, Children’s Services Division

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Riverside County Department of Public Social Services | Annual Report 2024 - 2025