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Audit: Sex Offender Addresses Tied To Foster Homes

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- More than 1,000 addresses for foster homes run by the state Department of Social Services and California's county agencies match addresses found in the state's sex offender registries, according to a state auditor's report released Thursday.

The auditor's office said that three years after it told Social Services officials to begin using the Department of Justice's sex offender registry to identify offenders who might be living or working near foster children, the department still wasn't checking the database.

State Auditor Elaine Howle said about 600 of the addresses were tied to high-risk sex offenders.

The department was notified of the matches in July. Since then, Social Services and county agencies have investigated 99 percent of the matching addresses and found six cases in which registered sex offenders were living or present at licensed facilities. The department also barred 36 individuals from being at the sites.

Separately, county agencies found 36 registered sex offenders having "some association" with foster homes and took actions including removing foster children from the homes or ordering sex offenders to leave.

Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, requested the audit after several reports of children's deaths in foster care. In addition to the Department of Social Services, Howle's audit covered Sacramento, Alameda and Fresno county child welfare services.

Howle reported that generally, counties are performing the required background checks of individuals before placing children in foster homes, and they are removing kids when the homes are inappropriate. But she said counties fail to consistently notify state licensing officials or quickly report abuse and neglect to the state Department of Justice.

Each of the counties studied was having trouble completing investigations in the 30-day period required by law, the report said.

Howle's review also found that the state agency was falling behind its own goals of conducting on-site reviews of its facilities every five years and visiting county child welfare agency sites every three years. The department blames funding shortfalls that have led to cutbacks across state government.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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