CPS reports [May 2000]

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REPORTS

CPS Task Force Issues Report

May 2000

Right on schedule, the Child Protective Services Task Force wound up its work and issued a report making recommendations for changes across the spectrum of child weffare. The section devoted to DFCS emphasized increased personal and structural accountability, increased staffing and pay levels, and the need for a toll -free number to take reports.
At the April 17-18 meeting, the group hammered out the final outline of the report and named the person or agency which would be responsible for carrying out its recommendations.
In just four months of deliberations, the task force absorbed reams of information, facts and opinions. Its job was to pull out the best and most workable ideas from the mass of material in its hands.
The task force recommended the following for field staff:
Increase the number of caseworkers.
Increase the minimum educational requirements.

Provide caseworkers with cell phones, lap-tops, cameras and access to agency cars.
Implement in-depth, pre-service and in-service training.
Implement a system of accountability which includes structured casework supervision, monitoring of supervisors and tracking county performance. The report called for the "full and expeditious implementation" of an MIS tracking system to locate children whose families move from
"Now the challenge is to ensure vitally needed reform and resources move from recommendations to reality. An under-resourced CPS working alone cannot protect kids from abuse and neglect. "

county to county. It recognized the effectiveness of SDM by saying, "an adherence to the policies must be enforced and staff provided to ensure compliance with the requirements."
CPS State Unit Manager David Hellwig says he thinks this is a good report. "Now the challenge is to ensure vitally needed reform and resources move from recommendations to reality. The report confirms that an under-resourced CPS working alone cannot protect kids from abuse and neglect," he commented.
To help ensure that child welfare reform does not end with the report, the group recommended that its members continue to work as a team for up to the next 18 months. The complete report is available on the web at www.cpstaskforce.state.ga.us .

House Bill 1406What it Means for County Directors

Inside

Looking Ahead-Case Manager of the Year 2000

House Bill I406What it Means for County Directors
Ugislation passed by this year's General Assembly and signed y the Governor on April 6 provides (among other things) "additional methods to remove county directors and district directors; to change the method of appointing county directors; to provide for annual reports and for appearances to answer certain questions; to change the provisions regarding salaries of county department staff." The following are the key provisions of HB 1406:
The Governor is authorized to suspend any member of any county board, any county director, or any employee or official of the department for cause. If, after a hearing, the Governor finds sufficient cause, he or she can remove the employee from office.
In addition to removal by the Governor, the state DFCS director may terminate the employment of any county director or district director, subject to any right of appeal they may have.
The commissioner will get a register from the merit system of qualified applicants for the position of county director. County boards will recommend one or more names from the register. The commissioner is designated as the

appointing authority for the department and may accept or reject the board's recommendation.
Each county director shall provide an annual report no later than December 31 of each year, beginning in the year 2000, to the county board, county commission, the state DFCS director, and legislators from the county. The report shall include the foflowing information for the 12 month period ending June 30 of that year:
(1) The number of children for whom the county department received a report of child abuse.
(2) General demographic data on the children, including gender, race, and age.
(3) The number of children taken into department custody.
(4) The number of placements of children by the type of placement.
(5) The length of time in custody by the number of children.
(6) Any other information required by state DFCS.

Factors Contributing to Job Satisfaction
Thefollowing is the second in a series of excerpts from "Supervising Child Protective Services Caseworkers-Increasing Job Satisfaction and Preventing Burnout," by Thomas D. Morton and Marsha K. Salus.
The following factors increase job satisfaction and staff motivation to perform :
1. achievement. 2. recognition for accomplishment.
Each of these factors is described below, along with ways CPS supervisors can enhance these factors in their units.
1. Achievement is a sense of accomplishment or successful closure of a task or activity. Supervisors can enhance caseworkers' sense of achievement on the job by:
Continued on page 4

Child Abuse and Neglect in Georgia
1999
Reports ......................................................................................69,949 Screen-outs ...............................................................................22,917 Investigations ............................................................................47,032 Substantiated incidents ............................................................26,888
neglect .................................................... 18, l60 physical abuse .........................................3,593 sexual abuse ............................................2,265 Deaths .......... .... ..... ................................. ... .......... ........ ... .. ....... .... .. ....42 due to neglect ............................................... 19 due to physical abuse ................................... 23 These statistics are from the Protective Services Data System, based on the information received from 159 counties. The 1999 PSDS Annual Report will be available this month. The "Child Abuse in Georgia 1999" fact sheet is available from DHR's Office of Communications.

Is it OK to Tell?
Two groups that don't often have a good word to say about each other got their say-and actually listened to each other. The occasion was the April "CPS and the Media" conference in Atlanta and the hot topic was confidentiality.
Their comments ran the gamut from a reporter's advice to a caseworker, "Don't do anything you wouldn't want seen on the front page of a newspaper" to the head of Illinois' child welfare agency's admission, "We have used confidentiality to hide our mistakes."
The two day conference sparked lively debate as reporters from local and national news outlets went toe-to-toe with protective services administrators from Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri and former administrators from California and Ohio.
Panelist Jess McDonald, director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, oversees the activities of a $1.3 billion agency that serves 48,000 children. At a roundtable discussion he asked this rhetorical question regarding media attention: "When we refuse to open our records, what are we afraid of?"

While advising agency administrators not to try to defend bad work, he told them what he thought was the best way to respond to a media crisis. "After you have reviewed the case completely and quickly, tell the reporters what you found and what you're going to do about it."
Conference Quotes
"Is there a way to have openness (with the media) while still protecting children?"
Jess McDonald Illinois DCFS
"Maybe it's time to bring up the matter of money again. No matter how well-run, well-managed your agency is, there still isn't enough money to adequately serve families and kids."
Michael Petit Child Welfare League of America
"CPS needs to get better at educating reporters and reminding them that the system will never be infallible. "
Patrick McCarthy Annie E. Casey Foundation

Marj Kelly, the former deputy director of California's Children and Family Services, commented
that California has been looking closely at the whole confidentiality issue for several years, but the juvenile court judges are hesitant.
On the other hand, in Hennepin
County Minnesota, where Dr. David Sanders is responsible for human services, the juvenile court has been open for some time. Sanders says it has worked so well he believes that openness should
be expanded to CPS. Kelly seemed to speak for all the
child welfare professionals attending the conference when she said,
"You can't say child abuse is a community problem and ask for community help, then withhold information, especially about how
mental illness and drugs affect
child welfare."

Joanne Nagy, with Michigan social seivices, makes a point during a workshop.

This wisdom was hard-won. McDonald pointed out that when he took over state DCFS five years ago,
"Illinois was a poster child for incompetence." Today, they have the lowest caseloads in history, fewer reports, adoptions have
tripled, and safety rates are better than ever before.
Not so surprisingly, all the news-
paper, radio and television reporters at the conference pushed for greater
openness and easier accessibility to case records. Very surprisingly, all the administrators agreed.

Michael Petit, deputy director of the CWIA, chats with Peter Quigley from the Children's Research Center.

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Looking Ahead-Case Manager of the Year 2000
This year's Case Manager of the Year will be announced at the Georgia Council on Child Abuse conference on Monday, July 31. The conference begins with a day of specialized institutes on Sunday, July 30 and runs through Aug .2 at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia Hotel. Start thinking now about your nominee for the award. Please feel free to make a copy of the nomination form included with this newsletter mailing. The deadline for nominations is June 30, 2000. Forms should be faxed to 404/657-3486 or mailed to The CPS Unit, 2 Peachtree St. NW, 18.233, Atlanta GA 30303.
"Increasing fob Satisfaction," Cont. from page 2
encouraging caseworkers to set professional goals setting goals with individual caseworkers regarding specific casework activities establishing unit goals gradually increasing the complexity of assignments so that caseworkers are challenged and experience success in more difficult situations
2. Recognition is the acknowledgment of an individual's or group's efforts, accomplishments, or contributions. There are many ways supervisors can recognize staff efforts and accomplishments, including the following: Highlight staff efforts and contributions in unit meetings. Celebrate client success and the caseworker's contributing efforts. Let a caseworker know orally and/or in writing that his/ her work is appreciated; (e.g., memos, a pat on the back, or notes placed on completed paperwork). Give awards, certificates, or other commendations for specific accomplishments and contributions. Encourage community service providers who compliment CPS staff to put
the praise in writing for placement in the caseworker's personnel file, with a copy forwarded to upper-level administrators. Allow and encourage staff to attend specialized training programs and conferences . Hold award dinners or lunches. When caseworkers are recognized for their efforts and accomplishments, they experience positive feelings about themselves and their professional competence, which creates an increased sense of self-worth.
We will bring you more next month.

REPORTS
Published by the Georgia Department of Human Resources Office of Communications Tell us your story. What, or whom do you want to read about? Fax your ideas and the name and number of a contact person to Renee Huie, editor, CPS Reports
Cd 404-651-6815.

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