DPSS Annual Report 24_25 FLIP v16_compressed

Children’s Services Division

agencies received approval for her to en ter a special inpatient dual diagnosis res idential treatment facility in Los Angeles County. It marked the first time Riverside County had accessed Opioid Settlement Funding to pay for the 60-day program, at a cost of $1,500 per day. The program was not covered by Chloe’s state health insurance Medi-Cal. Although Chloe didn’t stay long, the cohesive approach to intervention marked a turning point in the teen’s journey. Assistant County Executive Officer over Human Services, Kimberly Britt, said she was surprised by limitations the system put on child welfare agencies when try ing to help the highest risk youth. “If I could see one improvement,” said Britt, who was part of Chloe’s multidisciplinary team, “it would be to build more flexibil ity into the system so that decisions can be made faster, and services can be tai lored more directly.”

As Chloe’s 18th birthday approached, caregivers and social workers worried Chloe did not have much time given the depth of her addiction. They stayed con nected to Chloe in every way they could, determined to not let her slip away. Their determination ultimately persuaded Chloe to agree to a locked treatment center, where she obtained mental health, substance use and academic support to stabilize her. Today Chloe has enrolled in Riverside County extended foster care, which will impart life skills and education op portunities to her until she turns 21. She dreams of becoming a social worker to help kids like her “better understand themselves.” Although youth with challenges as se vere as Chloe’s make up far less than 1 percent of the 3,700 children in Riverside County foster care on any given day, Her nandez and others say they require a dis

proportionate share of resources from multiple agencies. They are committed to pushing for policy changes that would allow youth like Chloe to receive critical interventions earlier, reducing the pro found trauma and life-threatening risks tied to addiction, sexual exploitation and street violence. Director of Riverside County Depart ment of Public Social Services Charity Douglas said every child deserves more than temporary care. “They deserve enduring connection, rooted in com munity and nurtured by people who stay through foster care and beyond. Our re sponsibility is not just to link services: it is to build a path of healing that awakens purpose and protects dreams. The time to reimagine child welfare, not as a sys tem but as a promise, is always now.” Some personal details have been changed to protect the privacy of this youth in care.

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

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