Koester to Review Complaints About Social Services Chief

Following a closed-door meeting about their embattled social services chief, county supervisors Tuesday directed Chief Administrative Officer Lin Koester to look into concerns raised recently about the management of the 925-employee Public Social Services Agency.

“We’re going to have the chief administrator take care of the situation,” said board Chairman Frank Schillo. “This is a personnel matter, so I can’t say any more than that.”

But agency Director James Isom, a 34-year county employee, said he had not been notified of any action regarding his job. He did not attend the board’s closed session.

“As far as I know, I plan on being here tomorrow,” he said. “The board members are wise people. We may have some disagreements, but they’re not just going to lop somebody’s head off the first time there’s a problem.”

The board’s impromptu evaluation of Isom’s job performance came days after a group of social workers complained publicly that they were overworked and ill-equipped to perform their jobs. And child advocate Robert Woodson recently demanded that the board fire Isom because of the deaths of child abuse victims during his tenure. Last week, police arrested an Oxnard couple accused of killing their 2-year-old child shortly after social workers returned her to their custody.

It also comes at a time when the welfare system that Isom runs is undergoing dramatic changes. However, he was not selected to participate in a special committee charged with overseeing county welfare reform. That panel includes one of Isom’s top deputies, Helen Reburn, as well as county Human Resources Director Ron Komers and Deputy Health Care Director Randy Feltman.

Isom said he did not feel slighted to be left off the committee, which has been asked to develop a blueprint for reform by January. “Pulling together a plan by January will take somebody working full time,” he said. “I can’t work at it full time.”

Schillo has been critical of Isom’s agency, saying recently that “there is a lot of discontent there that just now is coming to the surface.”

But Isom said Tuesday that if county officials have a problem with his job performance they should have brought it to his attention before making public comments.

“I’ve always felt that if an employee has a problem, you tell them so that you give them the chance to become a good employee,” he said. “I don’t think you should wait until it’s time to cut somebody’s throat and say, ‘Gee, you’ve been screwing up for 10 years.’ ”

Isom said he has a meeting scheduled with Koester at 9 a.m. today on a different matter, adding that he hopes the two can work together to straighten out whatever problems the agency has.

“I expect that Lin will say, this is what I think is wrong, and we will try to find a way to fix it,” he said.

As far as worker complaints, Isom agrees that social workers are overworked and underpaid. He said some of the problems are financial--his department has lost more than $1 million through budget cuts in the last three years.

But Isom said there are still things that can be done to improve working conditions and that he looks forward to talking with employees about their concerns.

He has a 2 p.m. meeting today with a group of social workers who held a news conference last week to complain about heavy caseloads and safety issues. Isom said he also has invited all employees to participate in a public forum Dec. 11, and air their complaints.

“The public has the right to know what’s going on,” he said. “And the workers have the right to speak their piece without fear of recrimination.”

Social worker Ellen Mastright, who plans to attend today’s meeting with Isom, said she is “guarded” about the outcome.

“We’ve had discussions with Mr. Isom in the past, and he’s always been open and willing to listen. However, we’ve not seen a lot of results,” Mastright said. “But we’re willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to fix things.”

As director of the county Public Social Services Agency, Isom is responsible for welfare payments to poor mothers, food-stamp programs, child protective services and general relief for unemployed residents.

Along with the criticism leveled at him recently, Isom said he has also received numerous cards, letters and calls from workers, department heads and others expressing their support.

He said he is confident he will be able to keep his job.

“I think if I perform well, I will continue to be here,” he said. “But if I screw up royally, then I expect that I won’t.”