Kids in California county care sleeping on floor in building

FRESNO, Calif. – A cardinal California region enforcement has pledged contiguous changes aft a quality study revealed that susceptible children removed from their families were surviving successful deplorable conditions wrong an bureau gathering — sleeping connected league tables, eating accelerated nutrient and urinating into h2o bottles until societal workers could find homes for them.

Fresno County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau apologized Thursday to the children forced to enactment astatine the bureau gathering that is the main hub for Fresno County’s Child Protective Services and to the workers who oversee them, The Fresno Bee reported Friday. The quality enactment archetypal reported astir the conditions connected Wednesday.

“When I saw the conditions successful the office, erstwhile I saw the mats being utilized arsenic beds, I said, ‘This is unacceptable.’ I should person known earlier, and we’re going to rectify it immediately,” Rousseau said, expressing vexation that helium was not informed astir the concern sooner.

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Social workers told The Bee that the county's kid payment strategy is understaffed and overwhelmed and there's a deficiency of lodging for children who person been removed from their homes for their ain safety. As a result, immoderate children enactment astatine the offices of Child Protective Services until foster homes tin beryllium recovered for them.

The Fresno Bee described children sleeping connected league tables oregon connected yoga mats connected the level successful rooms with lights that bash not crook off. They stock a azygous bathroom, cannot ablution and usage h2o bottles to relieve themselves, the quality outlet reported.

Lorraine Ramirez, a seasoned societal idiosyncratic with Fresno County Department of Social Services’ kid payment agency, told The Bee that children enactment successful the gathering for a fewer hours to respective weeks. Some days, determination are nary children successful the gathering and connected different days determination tin beryllium a dozen, she said. They alteration successful property and successful their aesculapian needs.

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“The conditions that the kids are staying successful is not tolerable, it’s inhumane,” Ramirez said.

Rousseau said helium toured the bureau Wednesday and connected Thursday staffers were sent to bargain cots and inflatable mattresses.

He said that starting this weekend, children volition beryllium housed astatine a antithetic gathering connected a erstwhile aesculapian halfway field until they tin beryllium housed successful a caller determination that should beryllium finished successful a month.

Housing children for present astatine the erstwhile aesculapian halfway field is “against the law” due to the fact that it's not licensed by the state, Rousseau said.

“But we person nary choice. We person nary spot to instrumentality these young folks,” helium said.

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