Open Case Investigations (OCI) Unit

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

San Bernardino County Children and Family Services (CFS) is dedicated to improving the safety, permanency and well-being of children. CFS’ current System Improvement Plan (SIP) employs strategies to reduce out-of-home abuse. One of such strategies is the establishment of an Open Case Investigations (OCI) Unit in June 2018. The OCI unit was established specifically to investigate reports of suspected child maltreatment of any child in out-of-home placement. The OCI unit investigates referrals on open cases including those involving children placed in the homes of relatives or Non-Related Extended Family Members (NREFMs) and new referrals on open cases such as Family Maintenance (FM) cases.The implementation of OCI has resulted in significant improvements in how CFS investigates out-of-home abuse. Consequently, there has been a reduction in the maltreatment of children in foster care (S1 Measure). In addition, the OCI unit has been able to mitigate identified risks, thereby reducing disruptions in placements.