What's New

April 2024 - Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month
“The County of Santa Cruz is committed to advancing policies and practices that prioritize the well-being of all our county’s children and families. Every family and child deserve supports to help them thrive, feel purposeful and have hope for the future. I encourage our community to join in our efforts this month and become partners in child abuse prevention.” Gloria Carroll, Division Director of the Human Services Department’s Family and Children's Services Division
 
  • Read the County's Press Release about child abuse prevention month, HERE
  • Watch this HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO from our Children's Memorial Flag Raising event on April 26, 2024
  • READ newspaper coverage of our April 2024 partnership efforts on child abuse prevention
Free Mandated Reporter Training Opportunities
Upcoming English-Language Child Abuse and Neglect Mandated Reporter Training:
Upcoming Spanish-Language Child Abuse and Neglect Mandated Reporter Training:
System Improvement Plan (SIP) Committee Meetings
Since 2006, Santa Cruz County has maintained a System Improvement Plan (SIP) Steering Committee that is charged with oversight and monitoring of the County’s SIP strategies and action steps. In 2014, the SIP Steering Committee was instrumental in collaboratively working with Santa Cruz County FCS and Juvenile Probation to assess performance on critical child welfare and probation outcomes, which resulted in the 2015‐2020 System Improvement Plan (SIP). Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the SIP Steering Committee was able to engage in the 2020-2025 SIP process and the final plan has been developed: 
 
The SIP Steering Committee is chaired by Gloria Carroll, the Family & Children’s Services Director, and Jose Flores, the Juvenile Division Director for the Probation Department. We will be completing the 2025-2030 SIP Plan in the spring of 2025, and the final plan will be posted here once it is publicly available.