Adult and Children Services
Social Workers in Adult & Children's Services provide a range of services to the most vulnerable members of our community: the young, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. One result of increasing stressors within our society, such as poverty, crime, substance abuse, and family violence, is that those who are least able to protect themselves are most often victimized by their caregivers or by their own self-destructive actions.
- Our office receives reports of alleged abuse and/or neglect of children, dependent adults, and the elderly from mandated reporters and other community members. These reports are investigated by social workers whose first priority is the safety of the victim. If a crime is alleged to have been committed, law enforcement also participates in the investigation.
- A very close second priority for Adult & Children's Services social workers is the preservation, to the extent consistent with safety, of the family unit or living situation of the child or adult experiencing abuse. Isolation from family and friends can be as painful as the abuse and neglect suffered at their hands. Our goal is to stop the abuse and neglect while strengthening the family's ability to protect all its members.
- Sometimes it is not possible to preserve the family unit and provide safety for those members being victimized. Part of our role is to find alternative living arrangements such as foster care, guardianship or adoption for children, and board and care or nursing homes for adults. These alternative living arrangements are closely monitored to insure the safety and well-being of the children or adult.
- The success of our work depends on involvement by the larger community and the many partnerships we have with other agencies. Family and child well-being is far too important to a healthy society to leave to a single agency. We work closely with law enforcement and the courts to insure the safety of our children and families and collaborate with public and private agencies to provide services to individuals and families in the community.
