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ACS Urged To Toughen Up Its Caseworkers; Fatality Report Calls For Hiring More Investigators ACS Urged To Toughen Up
Its Caseworkers;
Calling the findings a "foreboding harbinger of the future," DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn faulted ACS policies and procedures as well as the quality and integrity of the investigations conducted by ACS staff. She said that the 129-page report could be summed up in three words: get the facts. The dire need to obtain more accurate information, she argued, was the central reason for the report's core recommendation to hire 100 employees with well-tested investigative skills. Mattingly Concurs ACS Commissioner John B. Mattingly said at an Aug. 9 press conference with Ms. Gill Hearn, "These recommendations leave us in a much better position to protect the city's children." All of the cases occurred between October 2005 and July 2006, and the parents in every case were either under investigation by ACS for abuse or neglect or had been the subject of completed ACS investigations. After combing through documents and interviewing 146 people involved with the cases, investigators steered away from placing blame solely on individuals and instead proposed systemic changes. But the report did criticize Caseworkers' job performance. It stated that they too readily believed the explanations of parents, didn't obtain critical documents, didn't record interviews, didn't pursue available legal remedies and didn't interview obvious witnesses, such as neighbors. It also faulted supervisors for closing cases prematurely. Union officials representing the Caseworkers questioned the merit of the report. "DOI is an agency that specializes in corruption and fraud," said Local 371 Vice President Faye Moore, "not the quality and practices of social services. They are as qualified to investigate child services as they are to investigate the space agency NASA." Need Investigative Skills Ms. Gill Hearn said that while social work services were crucial for child protection, so too were investigative skills, and asserted that most of the Caseworkers were not properly trained or equipped for the investigative tasks. But Ms. Moore said that it was Mr. Mattingly who recently reduced the length of training from 90 days to six weeks in order to staff up the agency. "This report is supposed to justify the fact that they want to put in law-enforcement professionals in the social services," she said. She noted that Child Protective Specialists are called into a case after the police have investigated and found no evidence that could lead to an arrest. Ms. Gill Hearn, however, asserted that the 500-percent increase in investigative consultants, known by their civil service title as Protective Agents, was not about "criminalizing child welfare" and that the new employees would not carry guns or have the right to arrest or conduct searches. Instead, the investigators would advise and in some cases accompany the Caseworkers on field visits. They could, for example, assist Caseworkers in tracking down parents who had disappeared, or help them to gain access to a building or a home where there was potentially a child in danger but where the adults were not answering. There are currently 20 investigative consultants on staff, most of whom are retired NYPD officers. They all have waivers to work for ACS and are already receiving their pensions through the city. When the additional 100 are hired by the end of the year, the ratio will be one Protective Agent to every 15 Caseworkers. The salary range is between $42,000 and nearly $70,000. No Union Yet There is currently no union representing the investigative consultants. "I've had them since November, but no one has tried to scoop them up yet," said Susan Morley, ACS's Senior Adviser for Investigations, who worked for the NYPD for 22 years and ended her career as the commanding officer of the Special Victims Division. Although ACS will be primarily recruiting from among retired NYPD officers, she said the budget would allow the agency to hire other experienced law-enforcement or investigative personnel who require benefits. Mr. Mattingly estimated the cost at $3 million. Ms. Gill Hearn said that reducing the caseloads of social workers was a key reform that had already been put into place since the slew of deaths. She estimated the average caseload at 11 for Child Protective Specialists. Mr. Mattingly acknowledged that the average meant that some workers were carrying higher loads. He estimated that about 30 percent of workers had fewer than 10 cases; another 30 percent had between 10 and 12; another 30 percent had 12 to 15, and that some of the remaining 10 percent could have up to 20 cases. But the report noted that the load was a big improvement from 18 months ago, when the average was 20. Stresses Job's Demands When asked at the press conference whether the problems identified were a result of "lazy caseworkers," Ms. Gill Hearn emphasized the challenging nature of the work performed by ACS staff. "Caseworkers are largely going on their own into tough buildings in tough neighborhoods, sometimes after a report of someone in the household engaging in violence," she said. "It can be quite explosive."
Mr. Mattingly promised that the agency would keep its
focus "like a laser" on the report's recommendations. But he also warned that
change would not come overnight. "In child protection, there is no quick fix,"
he said. "There is no silver bullet that will solve the problems that child
protective agencies around the country have experienced, and there is no free
lunch." |
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