LA County Board

9. Preventing Overdoses for Youth Engaging the Child Welfare System\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisors Solis and Horvath: Instruct the\nDirector of Children and Family Services, in partnership with the Directors of\nPublic Health, Health Services and Mental Health, and the Executive Director of\nthe Office of Child Protection, and other relevant Department Heads, and in\ncollaboration with contracted partners, labor partners, and community\nstakeholders, to take the following actions:\nDevelop a plan of action, including timelines to completion, for the\nDepartments of Public Health (DPH), Health Services (DHS) and Mental\nHealth (DMH), to assess the current array of trainings and make\nrecommendations to the Department of Children and Family Services\n(DCFS) regarding any gaps in knowledge on substance use disorder\nand treatment for their social workers and resourcing parents, and on\nbest practices to identify signs of substance abuse issues and to mitigate\noverdoses, which should include offering training on using naloxone and\nfentanyl test strips;\nAssess the utility and utilization of assessment and screening tools, such\nas the Child and Adolescent Strengths and Needs, the Car Relax Alone\nForget Friends Trouble, and Home Education Activities/Employment,\nDrugs, Suicidality, and Sex screening tool, and collaborate with health\ndepartments on proposed improvements to screening tools to help\ndevelop standardized processes that better assess and screen for\nbehavioral health risk factors;\nCollaborate with DCFS to ensure DCFS social workers and resource\nparents continue to be supplied with appropriate tools including, but not\nlimited to, naloxone and fentanyl test strips;\nReview existing referral pathways and explore the feasibility of creating\nadditional streamlined pathways for ease and efficacy for DCFS social\nworkers and resource parents to refer to service providers within or\ncontracted by DPH, DMH, or DHS, including the Hub network, to provide\nthe necessary interventions, including connecting patients to medical\nhomes, to assist with families that are identified with behavioral health\nneeds;\nEnsure DCFS social workers and resource parents are trained on\nprotocol to engage field teams from DPH, DHS, and DMH, including\nDMH alternative crisis response teams, psychiatric mobile response\nteams, and mobile crisis outreach teams; and\nReport back to the Board in writing in 60 days on the progress of the\nabove directives, with quarterly written updates thereafter, until the\nworkforce has been fully trained, including funding streams that can\nsupport this initiative, including opioid settlement dollars and funding\navailable through managed care plans. (24-5094)