Legislators: Focus on keeping caseworkers
But CPS’ top need should be hiring, leader says at hearing.
Retaining caseworkers — not just hiring more of them — is part of the solution for addressing Child Protective Services’ bloated child abuse caseloads, several lawmakers told agency officials Wednesday.
“Throwing more money and hiring more caseworkers is like filling up a pail that has a hole in the bottom,” state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing at the Capitol. “It’s a leadership issue, an environment issue, a stability issue.”
Last week, Hank Whitman, commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services — the agency that runs CPS — announced he wanted to hire 550 additional investigators and caseworkers as well as 279 sup- port staffers within the next year, at a cost of $53 million. He wants lawmakers to approve spending to pay for it.
CPS is too overloaded with cases for caseworkers to make timely visits to children believed to be in immediate danger of abuse or neglect.
“Beat on me. I don’t care. I am telling you right now, we need the
help, and it comes in a monetary way. It sickens me that children aren’t being seen,” Whitman said.
As of Oct. 17, more than 15,000 kids across the state hadn’t been seen by childabuse investigators between 24 and 72 hours after a report of abuse, the state-mandated time frame in which caseworkers must see children who are reported abused.
An additional 2,844 children statewide reported as abused or neglected haven’t been seen at all. Of those children, 511 are at high risk of being abused or neglected and many of them can’t be found, according to CPS.
State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, chairwoman of the Finance Committee, and state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, grilled Whitman, who became commissioner six months ago, about not asking for help sooner.
“I can’t imagine why we would want to do anything more than go find these children tonight,” Nelson said.
Several lawmakers, however, questioned whether hiring more caseworkers would adequately address the lack of timely contact with potentially abused and neglected children.
State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said the agency needs to raise caseworker salaries to “a living wage.”
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, this week requested that the Legislative Budget Board direct $60 million to CPS to increase caseworker salaries from $35,000 per year to as high as $52,000.
There are 5,600 caseworkers and 211 vacancies. According to CPS officials, hiring caseworkers isn’t a challenge, but rather retaining them. Some caseworkers make as little as $34,700 per year. As many as 46 percent of caseworkers leave within their first year of employment in some parts of the state. Training a caseworker is about $54,000.
State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, said the state could be throwing $13 million “out the window” to train new caseworkers as outlined in the agency’s proposal if caseworker turnover isn’t addressed.
Whitman told senators that he has asked for a large chunk of money next biennium to pay for salary increases. However, hiring more caseworkers and investigators is more pressing, Whitman has suggested.
Whitman has said the agency needs to add 200 investigative caseworkers across the state and to target staff resources specifically in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and in Harris and Travis counties.
He also wants to add 250 caseworkers who assist fam- ilies and children who are removed from homes, as well as 100 more special investigators.
Special investigators have law enforcement backgrounds and locate children whose families have moved or are actively avoiding CPS.
The agency wants to hire 279 staffers for support, supervision, hiring and training.
Nelson tasked five fellow members of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday to come up with recommendations about how to address problems with CPS and how to pay for them over the next three years.