Page 6 - Work Force September 2016

Risk of child abuse growing
continued from page 3.
Should a child be harmed, management is also quick to unfairly shift the blame to the workers, who are trapped between bureaucracy and a child’s life. “Caseworkers
are constantly worried about
their cases because they know if something goes wrong, they won’t have management’s support,” a case supervisor and CSEA member said.
The case supervisor said he has overseen up to 150 cases during busy periods. “There is no way that anyone can know
even half of the details of the active cases when you have that many,” he said.
The Long
Island Region
caseworker said
that between the
number of homes
they must visit and the required paperwork, they are often rushed. “You can’t properly service these people under those circumstances.”
Despite these demands, CSEA members stay current on research related to their field and see the argument for lower caseloads.
“What we’re seeing in the evidence-based research is that lower caseloads equal better results,” said CSEA member Kim
On the cover, images of children represent our union’s concerns that high turnover and unlimited caseloads are leaving children and families under-served and at risk in child protection services.
Leonard, a Dutchess County CPS worker. “With more time, we could spend more time with families and do fuller assessments.”
Unique cases
What many people don’t realize, workers said, is that response to cases are not one size fits all. The dynamics can vary.
Some children in the same family live in different or multiple homes with different family members,
meaning more stops for caseworkers.
“We’re all over the place,” a Long Island Region caseworker said. “Sometimes, we have to go to three different locations for the same case.
In the midst of that, we’ll get a call where we’re being given another case. That’s exactly how cases get neglected and why there’s a lot of turnover.”
And if workers have to remove
a child from their home, that ties
up several days. Not only does a home removal take time, it can place workers in potentially dangerous situations.
“We have situations where
people become violent towards the caseworker when they’re visiting
a home,” the case supervisor said. “Cases of assault and threats are so common that our caseworkers have stopped reporting them.”
The ongoing heroin epidemic is also a major factor affecting caseloads. “We haven’t gotten through a week without a home removal due to heroin abuse,” a Southern Region CPS worker said.
Stopping the cycle
“We urge the Governor to sign this bill into law,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “This legislation is a crucial step toward giving our dedicated workers what they need to really focus on the kids relying on them for help.”
This bill is vital to building a more effective support system to handle the ever-growing need for effective case management in the CPS system.
CSEA members employed as CPS caseworkers are sending the
governor handwritten letters to urge him to sign the legislation.
“Anything that helps us is so, so welcome,” said Dutchess County Local President Liz Piraino, who works in her county’s Department of Community and Family Services alongside many CPS caseworkers.
“We have high turnover here for CPS workers. It’s a difficult job to do, and as the turnover rate increases, it puts a greater burden on the more experienced workers. If the caseload size is reduced, it will benefit the entire community.”
CSEA Western Region activist Agnes Mabin, an Erie County
child protective services team leader, said that the legislation
will help struggling families and children.“Everyone who cares
about the well-being of vulnerable populations should be asking Governor Cuomo to sign this bill into law,” she said.
— Jessica Ladlee, Wendi Bowie and Ove Overmyer
“Everyone who cares about the well-being of vulnerable populations should be asking Governor Cuomo to sign this bill into law.”
WorkForce
cseany.org
A moment of TRUTH
for at-risk children
September 2016 Vol. 19, No. 8
See
see page 3
pages
3, 4 and 6
9262_Workforce ChildProteSer10x9.75.indd 1 8/22/16 9:22 AM
Sign up for updates on CPS legislation
CSEA fought hard to pass legislation to limit the number of caseloads that a CPS worker can carry at one time, but we need you for this campaign to succeed.
Visit actionnetwork.org/forms/sign- up-for-updates-on-cps-legislation to receive information on how you can help ensure that the governor signs the bill into law.
6 The Work Force
September 2016