(https://paulfloreswriter.wordpress.com/2025/11/10/tulare-cares-temporary-encampment/)

“Kelly, you raise a critical point that gets to the heart of the matter: the fundamental need for transparent and accountable government.

Your mention of ‘Tulare Cares’ and the questions about where the funds went for the homeless encampment is a perfect example of a pattern we should all be worried about. When large sums of public money are involved, whether for homeless services or for placing vulnerable children in group homes, there must be ironclad oversight to ensure funds are used properly and services are delivered as promised. The fear that someone “lined their pockets” while the community got a “shit hole” is exactly the kind of cynicism that erodes public trust. I will be looking into ‘Tulare Cares’ to research what exactly happened there.

This is directly relevant to the Scott’s Social Services disaster. As the article shows, the CEO and CFO of that organization paid themselves over $430,000 while their facility was so understaffed and poorly run that it became a danger to the residents and the neighborhood. This is not about blaming the staff on the front lines; it’s about holding the highly-paid executives and the officials who are supposed to be watching them accountable.

That’s why we can’t just blame “the state” in a general sense, as some are doing. We have to demand action from our local leaders who have the power to act now:

District Attorney Tim Ward has the power to investigate if the negligence and conditions at this home rise to the level of criminal endangerment.

HHSA Director Donna Ortiz has the power to pull county-placed children out of this dangerous environment and answer for why her agency’s monitoring failed.

The failure of ‘Tulare Cares’ (if that is what happened) and the failure of this group home are two symptoms of the same disease: a lack of aggressive, local accountability. We need to demand that our local officials—from the DA to the HHSA to the Board of Supervisors—use every tool at their disposal to protect our community, whether it’s from misspent funds or a dangerously run group home.”

“Rodney, you’re right that state law created the framework that allowed this home to open without local consultation, and that has clearly handcuffed the city’s ability to be proactive. The city officials are correct about that.

However, to place the fault solely on the state legislature in Sacramento is to let the truly responsible parties off the hook. This isn’t just a state problem; it’s a cascade of local and state failures.

The primary fault lies with Scott’s Social Services. State law didn’t force them to be understaffed. It didn’t force them to leave chemical sheds unlocked or fail to create an emergency plan. It didn’t force them to pay their executives $430,000 while their facility descended into chaos with 100 police calls, including reports of sexual trafficking and violence. This is a case of profound and dangerous negligence by the operator.

Where is our local law enforcement leadership? With reports of felony sexual assault, trafficking of a minor, and a stabbing, a serious criminal investigation is warranted. We have to ask: at what point does District Attorney Tim Ward get involved beyond just prosecuting the one outside individual who was arrested? The pattern of activity described suggests a environment where serious crimes are occurring. The DA’s office has a responsibility to investigate whether the operators of the home are criminally liable for endangering these children or facilitating a environment that led to these crimes.

The County’s HHSA has a direct, fiduciary duty to these children. These girls are placed in this home by the county’s welfare system. Donna Ortiz, as the Director of HHSA, is ultimately responsible for their well-being. Her agency is the “customer” paying for this service. The conditions described—sexual assault, violence, runaways—represent a catastrophic failure in the county’s duty to provide a safe placement. The question for Director Ortiz is: What monitoring did HHSA have in place, and why were these vulnerable children left in a facility that was so clearly out of control? As a commenter noted, this looks like a strong case for a lawsuit against the county for failing in its basic social duties.

The state’s Department of Social Services failed in its duty to oversee. The state didn’t just pass a law and walk away. It tasked the DSS with licensing and monitoring. For the DSS to issue multiple ‘immediate risk’ citations and for the City Attorney to get no response from them is an epic regulatory failure. The state’s own enforcement mechanism broke down.

So, while the state law is the backdrop, the actual disaster was caused by a negligent operator, an absent state regulator, and a failure by our local county leadership—specifically HHSA Director Donna Ortiz and DA Tim Ward—to use their full authority to protect these children and the community. We need to demand accountability from all of them, not just blame a distant legislature.”

The problem with this group home is that there is no oversight at the state level and the state does not allow the city or county to have any say in the matter. State law allows them to dump a group home in any neighborhood. These teenagers are completely out of control and they run right over the minimum wage, poorly trained staff that is supposed to be in charge.

This is not the fault of the county or the DAs office. Fault for this group home disaster falls on the state. They passed a law allowing for these group home to be placed anywhere without any consultation with the city or county, or with the neighborhood. As far as Sacramento is concerned they can place these group homes anywhere they want.

It really makes you wonder about local county and regional/state oversight when it comes to all this shit, and what people get paid for exactly?

Where is Tim Ward and the DA’s role in all of this? At what point does the county need a better grand jury or board of supervisors that know how to run a county and keep it running in its basic social duties? Is this HHSA’s ultimate responsibility? I think all these young women deserve a class action lawsuit against both Donna Ortiz director of HHSA and the County itself.