Gov. Mike Pence announced Thursday that the Department of Child Services will be hiring 113 additional caseworkers in response to a 26 percent spike in the number of children entering the DCS system. DCS also had been under fire for a July lawsuit alleging caseworkers are forced to take on heavy caseloads that are illegal under state law.
“This authorization for 113 more DCS caseworkers is all about putting kids first,” Pence said in a press conference in Indianapolis. “We want to make sure that we’re not only meeting our statutory obligations, but also that we’re doing right by our kids. There is simply no higher priority than the safety of the children in this state, and I am confident that by hiring these additional caseworkers, we can help ensure that our dedicated personnel at DCS are able to provide children in difficult circumstances with the time and attention they deserve.”
The new caseworkers, which DCS will immediately begin to hire, would make the agency compliant under June 2015 caseload numbers. The cost of hiring the caseworkers will be an estimated $7.2 million, which Pence said may come within the existing DCS budget, but more than likely will come outside of it.
These new caseworkers are on top of 100 family case managers and 17 supervisors that the Indianaa General Assembly appropriated $7.5 million annually for in the most recent state budget. The case manager positions have already been filled.
Under state law, case managers can handle no more than 12 initial assessments or 17 ongoing cases. Last fall, DCS told a legislative committee that only one of DCS’ 19 regions — the agency’s central office — was complying with caseload standards.
DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura, formerly a Lake County Juvenile Court judge, said the caseworkers are sorely needed as the numbers show that Indiana children are being abused and neglected at an unprecedented rate.
“In fact, from July 2014 to July 2015 the number of children entering into the DCS system has increased by 26 percent,” Bonaventura said. “There is nothing more important than keeping the children and families we serve, safe; and providing the necessary support to our frontline staff is paramount to accomplishing our mission.”
As of June 30, 18,621 children were active Children In Need of Services cases (CHINS) — an increase of 26.1 percent compared to 2014. Pence said more than 200,000 calls have come in so far this year to the DCS hotline at 800-800-5556.
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Currently, DCS has 1,546 family caseworkers dealing with investigations or cases of abused or neglected children. About 190 are currently in the 12-week training period and there are 45 vacancies.
The turnover rate for DCS caseworkers is around 19 percent, Bonaventura said, and she lauded the “warriors” whose stressful job it is to enter troubled homes to investigate abuse and neglect claims. She said several regions are within one or two caseworkers of meeting compliance.
“(If not for that increase) we would be in compliance but it’s hard to predict because we don’t know what’s coming through that door and because we’re a responsive agency,” Bonaventura said. “The statute says we don’t have the option, ‘You know we don’t want to be out of compliance, so we’re not going to pick up Johnny with cigarette burns. You can keep him.’ That’s not our option. We have to respond and that’s what we do.”
Pence said drug use — particularly heroin — in families may be fueling much of the increase.
In July, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana brought a lawsuit on behalf of case manager Mary Price and other DCS case managers alleging that DCS was violating state-mandated caseloads. Under the law, Price should have been supervising no more than 17 children’s cases at a time, but her actual caseload was 43 children, making it difficult to meet each child’s needs effectively.
“It’s not enough to simply pass laws that say we’ll do the right thing,” said ACLU of Indiana Executive Director Jane Henegar in July. “The purpose of caseload limits is the safety and welfare of vulnerable children. We expect government to meet the letter and the spirit of the law, providing children with the protections they deserve.”
In 2014, DCS added 110 case manager positions, and 136 case managers and 75 supervisor positions were added in 2013.