Cern County AGENCY CULTURE

http://www.co.kern.ca.us/pio/KERNCOFinalReport.pdf

4.6.8 KCDHS Culture and Leadership
The KCDHS culture is described as resulting from a combination of
external and internal
factors. A community partner states that Kern County has a child abuse
issue and race issue, and
that poverty and drugs are part of the problem. There is also a
perception that when a case hits
the media staff are afraid to act. KCDHS's reputation is that it is
very collaborative, but
communication internally is very fragmented. Many community partners
report that the average
worker wants to do well, but is not given the training, tools and
support to do so.
In terms of leadership, the reported lack of consistent leadership at
the top and the
changes at the Assistant Director level have caused a lack of
stability. The tension between the
Director and the staff is known to most community partners. Some
attribute it to reports that the
Director does not respect or support staff and bypasses the chain of
command in decision
making, while others say that the tension in the Department is all
related to resistance to change,
that the Director has had to make changes and that "some staff
don't like the move forward." It
is also reported that the frequent changes in leadership mean that no
one follows through with
recommended changes. Some of the leadership is less confident of
decision-making which may
be a function of being new to the position.