Santa Clara County child welfare leaders are implementing a state-ordered five-year improvement plan after a fentanyl overdose death of baby Phoenix Castro and are coordinating with other county departments. The Department of Family and Children's Services faced scrutiny after Phoenix died following return to her drug-abusing father despite social worker warnings. Investigations found the agency prioritized family preservation over child safety and ran unlicensed group homes for older foster youth that experienced assaults and runaways; those homes have since been licensed. The Board of Supervisors ordered an overhaul and Supervisor Sylvia Arenas supported the push for changes.
Santa Clara County's child welfare agency has taken exception to findings in a critical Civil Grand Jury report that the county lacks urgency in improving care for high-needs foster teens. Not only is the agency actively working on a state-ordered 5-year improvement plan brought on by the fentanyl overdose death of baby Phoenix Castro it is also partnering with other county departments to get it done, child welfare officials said in their response this week to the Grand Jury report made public earlier this month.
The county's Department of Family and Children's Services has been under intense scrutiny since baby Phoenix died after being sent home with her drug abusing father two years ago despite warnings from social workers she could be in danger there. Investigations by the Mercury News as well as the state Department of Social Services found that the agency put higher priority on keeping troubled families together than on keeping children safe.
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