Punish those in error, not all CPS, social workers
The horrifying news that more than 6,000 reports of child abuse and neglect were deliberately not investigated is shocking and unbelievable.
The National Association of Social Workers — Arizona Chapter condemns these actions and urges immediate accountability for those responsible, especially those who approved this illegal action.
NASWAZ is also concerned about comments made regarding “social workers” in the media and testimony to the Child Protective Services Oversight Committee. Many times CPS staff have been referred to as “social workers,” and social workers as a group have been blamed for the unconscionable choices of a subset of CPS staff.
Most CPS staff members are not social workers; they have degrees in different disciplines. Only professionals with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in social work are entitled to be called a social worker.
It is concerning that so few CPS staff are social workers, SUZANNE SCHUNK given that this is the only course of study which is specifically tailored to prepare professionals for the complex and lifealtering assessments and decisions they face daily at CPS.
Appropriate decisions about child safety, well-being and permanency require a full understanding of family dynamics, child development and trauma to intervene effectively in abuse or neglect allegations. On-the-job training at CPS cannot replace the intensive socialwork course of study.
Research has demonstrated that those child-welfare systems that employed only social workers had better outcomes for children than those that employed workers with degrees from various disciplines. NASWAZpresented testimony at the 2011 Arizona Child Safety Task Force about this fact and advocated strongly for more social workers to be hired at CPS.
However, Department of Economic Security Director Clarence Carter disagreed, as he believed an array of different skills was a better choice. NASWAZ believes this choice may have contributed to the increasingly worse conditions at CPS.
Finally, it is possible that some of those responsible were social workers, and their ac- tions are inexcusable. Yet, it is critical to remember that not all professionals from any discipline are to be condemned when a few choose to violate the law. All professions have had some members commit illegal acts, but the profession as a whole is not blamed.
Therefore, NASWAZ urges the media and public to refrain from the negative condemnation of all social workers and/or all CPS staff as ineffective and in need of replacement.