Social Welfare Department seeks unmarked cars for investigations

RIVERSIDE - Riverside County's child and adult welfare agency will be asking the Board of Supervisors today for authorization to use unmarked cars to conduct investigations.

The Department of Public Social Services placed a request on the board's policy agenda seeking to have all vehicles acquired over the next five years free of any county decals.

''DPSS social workers are often put into conditions where they are required to conduct home investigations or make field calls to a client's residence,'' according to an agency statement. ''At times, the safety conditions involved in the investigation, combined with the presence of a marked county vehicle, may increase the risk to the investigating social worker by drawing unwanted attention to the county presence.''

Board Policy D-8 mandates that all county vehicles -- with the exception of law enforcement -- bear decals designating them as county-owned. The markings are generally supposed to be visible on the cars' or trucks' front doors.

According to DPSS, ''advertising our presence can discourage neighbors and other key parties from providing essential information for fear of being associated with the investigation.''

Social workers are required to pay regular visits to homes where foster children are supervised. They also monitor the welfare of dependent adults, particularly the elderly, who rely on public programs for aid, as well as manage programs geared to reducing homelessness.

''Social workers perform an essential function to protect children or adults from abuse and neglect,'' DPSS officials said in a statement to the board. ''Having the ability to remove the association of being a part of a government entity will assist with their investigation, resulting in improved child welfare and adult protection services.''

The county's existing fleet includes unmarked vehicles previously employed by law enforcement but taken out of service and provided for general use. It was unclear whether DPSS would also be seeking to utilize those autos.