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Local Tribes Support AG’s E ort to Continue CWS Monitoring
King of Tides
Four local tribes have announced they are “vigorously supporting” an e ort by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to extend third-party monitoring and other provisions of a 2018 court ruling that found the Humboldt County Sheri ’s O ce and Department of Health and Human Services were not in compliance with the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act.
In a joint press release, the tribes pushed back strongly against the county’s statement late last month that Becerra’s request to continue third-party monitoring of its agencies reflected “the state’s desire to waste taxpayer money on unnecessary consultants and monitors.”
“This is about more than money, it is about the safety of our kids,” Wiyot Tribal Chair Ted Hernandez said in the release, which was co-signed by the Yurok Tribe, Trinidad Rancheria and Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria. “We’re talking about children, the quality of their lives and the future of our communities. While the county purports that improvements have been made, when it comes to the safety of local children, not much has been changed since the court ordered settlement was announced.”
In the release, tribal leaders agree with Beccera’s contention that while the county has updated policies and procedures on paper, they have not been e ectively put into practice.
“Unfortunately, the County’s actions and comments demonstrate a continued lack of understanding of DHHS’s failures and underscore the need for continued oversight to best protect children who are su ering or at risk of abuse in Humboldt County,” said Wendell Freeman, the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria’s Tribal Council treasurer, in the release. “The third-party compliance monitors Shore birds find a perch amid the morning peak of the Jan. 11 king tide, looking south over Humboldt Bay toward the Samoa Bridge and the old mills on the Samoa Peninsula. Photo by Mark Larson
have played an essential role in improving the agencies’ response to cases of child abuse and neglect by proactively identifying issues and assisting with development of solutions to the problems outlined in court-ordered settlement.”
The court had been scheduled to take up Becerra’s request Jan. 15 but the county has requested the hearing be continued to Feb. 9. — Thadeus Greenson
POSTED 1.7.21 Read the full story online.
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