Editor’s Note: On Dec. 20, 2016, the state Child Protective Services Caseload Standards Bill (A.10506/Lupardo/S.2691/Golden) was delivered to the governor. As discussed in the following article, this bill would require the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to establish a monthly caseload limit for child protective services workers. Call the governor’s office TODAY at 1-877-255-9417 and ask him to sign this important legislation into law!
Thousands of children across the state are facing abuse or neglect every day, and it’s our moral responsibility to help them.
That is why CSEA has launched a statewide campaign to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign the Child Protective Services Safety Act, which the Assembly and Senate approved in June.
This legislation (A.10506/Lupardo/S.2691/Golden) would limit child protective services caseloads to 15 active cases per month, which would give workers more time to devote to cases for the children most at risk. While it would take about two years for the legislation to fully take effect, it’s a big step toward helping these children and their families, the workers who provide the services and the communities as a whole.
Child protective services workers are faced with heavy caseloads that can run as high as 70 per month, understaffing, and insufficient time to truly help the most at-risk children.
“Many of the decisions child protective services must make every day can literally mean life or death for the children in their care,” CSEA President Danny Donohue. “These workers see horrific cases of abuse every day; the stress over agonizing about the choices they must make is unimaginable. Signing this legislation into law won’t just help alleviate caseloads for workers who are already stretched too thin, but will save lives.”
TV ads are airing across the state, and we are raising the urgent need for this bill’s passage through other activities such as news conferences and letter-writing efforts.
While child protective services workers have long seen heavy caseloads, a sluggish economy and ongoing heroin epidemic are overwhelming child protective caseloads and threatening the social safety net.
Across the state, child protective services workers are increasingly seeing cases of abuse and neglect that are tied to heroin and opiate use. Not only are children living in circumstances that dramatically increase their risk for abuse and neglect, but it feeds into a vicious circle of the children themselves having potential substance abuse problems, violent behavior or other social issues.
Nassau County Local activist and CPS case supervisor Glen Tuifel said caseworkers in his county have seen increased numbers of abuse and neglect cases in which children’s parents and guardians are addicted to heroin or opiates.
“This epidemic is taxing the limited resources of the dedicated staff assigned to protect these vulnerable children, and additional staffing, training, and treatment options for those addicted would be welcomed by child protective services caseworkers,” he said. “It is our sincerest hope that these serious concerns for the health and safety of our community’s children is addressed through more resources and funding to combat this problem.”
Limiting the caseloads would give the workers a chance to truly help children and families facing this epidemic.
“Every night, child protective workers go to sleep worrying about the children they saw that day. They wish they could do more,” said CSEA Capital Region President Ron Briggs, a former child protective services worker in Fulton County. “This legislation will afford CPS workers the opportunity to do more to help the most vulnerable children in our communities.”
