The
Division for Children, Youth and Families unveiled a $1.8 million plan
Monday to provide around-the-clock staffing at child protection
services, which is currently open during business hours only.
The state agency, which investigates
reports of child abuse and neglect, has come under renewed scrutiny
following the recent deaths of two New Hampshire toddlers.
A state commission to review child abuse
fatalities has been weighing whether to expand the agency’s hours beyond
the current Monday through Friday schedule between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The division’s proposal, presented
Monday, would re-purpose existing state money to bring on 18 new child
protective workers and supervisors who would primarily cover a new shift
from noon to 8 p.m. Some of the workers would also cover overnights and
weekends.
The division currently has 176 child protection field workers on staff.
“It
would significantly enhance the department’s ability to investigate and
respond to reports of abuse and neglect,” said Jeff Meyers, head of the
Department of Health and Human Services, which includes child
protection services.
Currently, weekend and nighttime
complaints are typically covered by local law enforcement, which has
requested longer hours at DCYF.
The plan could be in place by September,
Meyers said, but it first needs approval from the commission and a
legislative fiscal committee.
Some officials questioned whether the agency should beef up its existing staffing levels before expanding its hours.
The report revealed the child protection
services division suffers from high staff turnover – which reached 50
percent in the last two years – and a growing number of caseloads.
Reports of child abuse and neglect accepted by the division rose 17
percent over the last five years, officials said.
“If you continue to have high turnover
rate, you are really never going to catch up. I am concerned about the
turnover rate,” said Marc Clement, who represents the New Hampshire
Child Fatality Review Committee on the commission.
The commission, going forward, needs to understand what’s behind the turnover, said its chairman, Sen. David Boutin.
“What is (the turnover) related to? Is it
related to pay, is it related to benefits, is it related to the work?”
asked Boutin, a Hooksett Republican. “What do we need to do to correct
it?”
The division had previously released a
more expensive 24/7 staffing plan in January, which proposed bringing on
more than 50 workers at a cost of $4 million. But that proposal was
pulled back in favor of the staffing report released Monday.
HHS Assistant Commissioner Mary Ann
Cooney said the new recommendation is scaled back so the department can
collect data before it presents a full request in the next state budget –
which will be crafted by the governor and Legislature in 2017.
Boutin said the proposal is a good first
step, and it will likely come up for a commission vote at the next
meeting in late March.
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307, amorris@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @amorrisNH.)
https://politics.concordmonitor.com/2016/03/gov-state/plan-to-expand-staffing-and-hours-for-child-protection-services-could-take-effect-in-september/
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