Santa Clara County social workers said current staffing levels are dangerously low and putting local families and children at risk. The workers held a rally Tuesday at the county office and called for increasing staffing. “We have a high vacancy rate and staffing shortages,” said Pa Chang, a social work supervisor with the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services. “And we are not able to meet the demands and needs of the family and children in our county.” The social workers brought up the case of baby Phoenix, a 3-month-old girl who was found in a South Bay “apartment littered with opioids” in May 2023. The girl had died of a fentanyl overdose. The county said officers and social workers had responded to the home multiple times before the death, but the baby was never removed from her parents’ custody. And though that has been resolved, the group said the current lack of staffing could lead to similar tragedies. Ultimately, the baby’s father was charged with child neglect. The workers believe greater staffing will reduce the risk of another similar situation. Santa Clara County 22 hours ago Santa Clara County reaches agreement over purchase of Regional Medical Center Santa Clara County Jan 13 Santa Clara County jail deaths highest in 2 decades Santa Clara County Jan 5 Santa Clara County has highest unhoused population in Bay Area, report says Phoenix’s great uncle, Edward, attended Tuesday’s rally. “We have to reevaluate what hasn’t worked and make the changes so nobody else has to go through this stuff,” said Edward Morillo, baby Phoenix’s uncle. The group, which works for the county Department of Family and Children’s Services, or DFCS, placed children’s shoes outside the county building to represent the kids they serve. “When social workers are working 150 hours are assigned over their case standards and crises in our community are not being responded to in a timely manner, children and families are left at risk,” said Karlie Eacock, a social worker with DFCS. While noting a social worker shortage in many states, county leaders said they are working to recruit more people after hiring 20 new social workers. Here’s the full DFCS statement: “Hiring additional social workers and supporting staff to best serve children and families continue to be top priorities for DFCS leadership, as we and other child welfare agencies throughout the state are facing a critical shortage of qualified applicants for open social worker positions. Just recently, DFCS successfully onboarded 20 new social workers, who were all assigned to either Emergency Response or Dependency Investigations, where we have the greatest need for additional staff. DFCS is committed to recruiting additional qualified staff as quickly as possible and to partnering with staff on the development of solutions to meet the community’s need.”