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22 <br /> Commissioner Richards said one of the things she hears most in this process is the rights <br /> of grandparents and single dads. <br /> Crystal Mitchell said relatives are an important part of this process. She said that <br /> preference is given for placement with family. She said that kinship assessment of relatives is <br /> conducted to see if it is a safe and appropriate placement. She said that 40% are placed with a <br /> relative, and many times a relative adopts or becomes the guardian. She said that some relatives <br /> cannot be a placement but want to be part of the child's life and that is also allowed. She said <br /> fathers are definitely important in the process. She said if there is an unknown father or father <br /> who is not actively engaged, they are tasked with getting them involved in different ways and <br /> report to the court each parent and other relative options for children. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if it is typically a foster family, relative, or other that adopts. <br /> Crystal Mitchell said it is typically a foster family or a relative. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked what guardianship means for permanent placements. <br /> Crystal Mitchell said that it is children in custody with a permanent plan and when <br /> terminating the parent child relationship is not in the child's best interest. She said that relatives <br /> can take guardianship. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked how much time DSS staff spend in court. <br /> Crystal Mitchell said they are in court two full calendar days per month. She said that in <br /> FY 2021-2022, they held over 450 court hearings. <br /> Commissioner Richards asked how FY 22-23 compares to previous years. <br /> Crystal Mitchell said the numbers have remained consistent except for with permanent <br /> placements. She said that the number of kids in custody dropped in 2020-2021 but has trended <br /> upward in 2022. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they track cases for kids already placed in foster care <br /> or in natural families. <br /> Crystal Mitchell said both. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they are tracking cases of kids that are already <br /> placed in foster care or just natural families and where the higher number of incidents are <br /> happening. <br /> Crystal Mitchell clarified that Commissioner Portie-Ascott was referring to incidents of <br /> abuse or neglect and said there are higher incidents in families than in foster families. She said if <br /> a claim is made against a child in Orange County custody, it becomes a conflict of interest, and a <br /> neighboring county has to investigate. <br /> Commissioner Greene asked how many social workers handle the work and if there are <br /> enough of them. <br /> Crystal Mitchell said there are 20 social workers that have blended in-home and foster <br /> care cases, and everyone is at caseload standards right now. She said there are four vacancies <br /> for in-home foster care teams. She said they have looked at ways to assign administrative tasks <br /> a social worker may have to other social services staff in other areas of the agency. <br />