More on Social Services

Random image: Cosmos in autumn light.

A late-night phone call derailed my train of thought on a blog post and things are not much clearer this morning. I had hoped to write about some aspects of the social service agencies that were discussed in Thursday's budget talks. By chance, on Wednesday someone at the League of Women Voters meeting brought up the notion of updating the 1982 "This is Plainfield" booklet that explains governmental workings and gives an overview of the many community groups in the city. Several of the agencies discussed Thursday are covered in the booklet and the "then and now" comparison offers food for thought.

The biggest change is that social service agencies used to be under Public Affairs & Safety, along with Police, Fire, Inspections and Recreation. Now the Health Division and the social service agencies are under Administration & Finance. As many know, this arrangement came about under one particular mayor who had a friend in mind for the directorship of Administration & Finance. Trouble was, the guy's background was in social work. The council at the time went along with this change, permissible under the charter as long as all the divisions were under one of three mandated departments.

This unwieldy new department has, since 2006, had seven or eight shifts in who is in charge. Some divisions have chugged along as they have for 30 years, doing their own thing as they know best how to do it. But the governing body has recently sought more scrutiny on the question of whether social services could be delivered some other way, maybe through the county or by private, non-profit agencies. With high turnover at the top, who is to study the options and make recommendations?

City Administrator Bibi Taylor, who until recently was also handling AFH&SS department head duties, spoke Thursday of the need for a "paradigm shift from operating independent silos to going global" to address social service needs. Jargon aside, she is correct. Perhaps, if the council continues its committee system in 2011, one of them could focus on how to achieve such a shift.

The longtime director of the Bilingual Day Care center is retiring and could be an asset in reshaping the operation. The agency predates the move toward free preschool education and in fact the center includes both Abbott (DOE supported) and non-Abbott components. Maybe 30 years ago, Latino families needed a specialized program, but with Latino children now making up more than half the incoming student population, surely the district at large is taking up the needs of their families in the preschool program.

Surprisingly, most of the social service agencies reported the need to convert from paper to electronic record-keeping. Some have equipment and need staff training, others need both. This need is one that has come up year after year in budget talks. The governing body must find out what the IT plan is for these agencies while they are still part of city operations.

Budget talks will continue next week. The current council seems more inclined to seek analysis of the presentations than past ones. Even if the 2010 budget year concludes without major innovations, the ideas gleaned from these talks should shape the next round and maybe someday there will be the kind of change needed for the 21st century.

--Bernice