On March 04, 2024, UPE continued to meet with the County regarding the working conditions at the Welcome Homes.
There was a list of concerns brought up by the UPE team with regards to staff safety. We also talked about the medical exam and background check, required by the State, of any/all staff that will be working in the Homes. Again, we asked the department for the Engagement Social Worker (ESW) Standards.
Once again, according to the department, there is nothing they can do to ensure the safety of the staff working in the homes. After months of waiting, there are still no ESW Standards, and as usual, everything that staff brought up at the meeting was a surprise to management.
Things that management agreed to correct were the broken lock on the front door and cleaning out the office(s) so that staff may have a break/lunch area. Once the meeting had ended, the department provided a memo that was supposedly sent to staff back in May, regarding blocking your address information through DMV as well as the State form Licensing 503 for physicals.
The department stated they have a community partner willing to take on the female youth in care and they are in the process of looking for a site and getting licensed; but they have no timeline in which this is to occur. They will keep us updated with this information.