Juvenile Welfare Office of the Ombuds
Welcome to the Juvenile Welfare Office of the Ombuds (JWOO)
JWOO is an independent, confidential, and impartial resource for anybody with questions or concerns about a case or interaction with the County of Santa Clara Department of Family & Children’s Services (DFCS/CPS). If you’re feeling stuck, uncertain, frustrated, or unheard in the juvenile dependency/child welfare system we’re here for you.
What we do and how we can help:
Being involved in the child welfare system can be one of the most trying times for individuals and families. When difficulties arise, we help visitors, their families and social work staff to ensure their voices are heard and to engage with one another in new ways. Our Ombuds practice focuses on strengthening collaboration and communication between DFCS staff and the families they serve.
Our goals are to:
Provide a confidential and safe space to talk about issues and concerns and find ways to resolve them.
Empower you to explore options to help resolve conflicts and decide on next steps.
Increase trust between DFCS and the community it serves.
Bring systemic concerns to the attention of DFCS for possible resolution and process improvement.
Who we serve:
Any individual with questions or concerns related to a current or past case with the Santa Clara County Juvenile Dependency System or Department of Family & Children’s Services (DFCS / CPS), including:
Parents
Guardians
Foster Youth
Caregivers, including family and friends of individuals involved with DFCS
Resource (foster) parents and families
Social Workers
DFCS community and system partners
Community Members
Other Government Agencies
Services we provide
- Information and Referral: to system and community resources to address your needs.
- Juvenile Welfare System Process Navigation and Education: to help you understand how the system works and where to go for help
- Restorative Consultation: We listen without judging to provide a safe space to help you surface and clarify your feelings, identify needs and priorities, brainstorm options to address your concerns, and generate possible next steps to resolve them.
- Communication and conflict coaching: We help you build skills to communicate and manage your concerns.
- Shuttle communication: We act as a bridge between you and others involved in your case or concern when there is a need for clarification of procedures or other information.
- Facilitation and mediation services: We facilitate conversations between individuals involved in a concern.