Calls for coordinated statewide action to protect vulnerable children
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter (NASW-CA), is calling for sweeping child welfare reform following a devastating California State Auditor report that found Alameda County’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) failed to adequately protect the state’s children.
The September 2025 audit—prompted by the advocacy of State Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab—revealed systemic breakdowns that have left California’s most vulnerable children at risk. In response, NASW’s California chapter will leverage its upcoming November 2025 Annual Conference and a special Board of Directors session to engage its members and leadership in a critical dialogue, shaping a collective path forward for the chapter’s advocacy and reform efforts.
Audit Reveals Widespread Delays and a Workforce in Crisis
The state audit uncovered alarming deficiencies in Alameda County's child welfare system, highlighting the urgent need for systemic reform. The audit found that the department failed to initiate 11 percent of immediate-risk referrals and 48 percent of non-immediate referrals on time, with some delayed investigations taking an average of 187 days (more than six months) to begin instead of the mandated 10 days.
These delays were exacerbated by a severe workforce crisis, where child-welfare worker vacancy rates more than doubled from 17 percent to 34 percent between 2019 and 2025. This staffing shortage led to unsustainable caseloads, with the intense and traumatic nature of the work cited as a leading cause of stress and burnout. Furthermore, the audit documented critical gaps in service delivery, including average three-month delays for health services and a failure to maintain proper documentation for 65 of 125 reviewed services, leaving the department unable to demonstrate whether vulnerable youth received the care for which they are legally entitled.
A Statewide Pattern of Systemic Failure
Alameda County’s problems are not unique. A May 2021 state audit of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services revealed identical issues—delayed investigations, insufficient staffing, and inadequate oversight—underscoring a broader, statewide crisis in which it found the LA county had "not adequately protected some children from abuse and neglect."
“The findings of this audit are a stark reminder of the systemic challenges facing our child welfare system,” said Dr. Carl Highshaw, Executive Director of NASW-CA. “Since I started in September, my initial focus has been on listening to community stakeholders and assessing our current capacity. A recurring theme from these conversations has been the urgent need to deepen our child welfare-related work. The fact that a 2021 audit of Los Angeles County revealed nearly identical failures to those we see in Alameda today proves this is a deep-rooted, statewide crisis that demands our full attention. NASW-CA is committed to developing a concrete plan of action to address the workforce crisis and procedural failures, and we will begin that critical work at our upcoming conference and board meeting.”
NASW-CA's Path Forward: Conference Deliberation and Board Action
NASW-CA will convene hundreds of social workers at its 2025 Annual Conference, “A Commitment to Change,” on November 14–15 in Irvine, Calif., which will inform an actionable path forward. The issue will also be a central focus at the organization’s upcoming Board of Directors meeting, where leaders will consider:
- Launching a Child Welfare Reform Initiative to improve accountability, training, and workforce support statewide.
- A potential pilot initiative in Alameda County focused on workforce support, documentation protocols, and interagency collaboration, using it as a starting point to strengthen the system statewide.
- Advancing policy advocacy to strengthen staffing pipelines, improve social worker retention, and modernize service delivery.
A Call for Collective Accountability
NASW-CA calls on all child welfare stakeholders—including county departments, state agencies, educational institutions, and community partners—to collaborate in addressing these systemic challenges. Only through coordinated effort can we ensure that California’s child welfare system fulfills its moral and legal obligation to protect vulnerable youth.
About NASW-CA
The National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter (NASW-CA) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the state. We work to enhance the professional growth and development of our members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies through legislative advocacy, professional education, and organizational capacity building.
For more information reach us via email: naswca@socialworkers.org