Still Short-Handed, Children’s Services Workers Claim

A spokesman for the children’s social workers union charged Tuesday that the county Department of Children’s Services has failed to hire enough additional personnel to ease the tremendous workloads plaguing the department.

Union officials said Robert L. Chaffee, director of the department, had promised that a $1.3-million federal grant would be used to eliminate the staffing problems that leave social workers handling three times as many cases as their counterparts in other counties, yet 250 vacancies still remain.

Department spokesmen said 130 workers were hired, but the bulk of the money will be used to repay the county for emergency aid it allocated in February.

Chaffee could not be reached for comment.

“I think their priorities are off,” said Jerry Hall, spokesman for Social Services Union, Local 535. “I think they should do what they have to do to fill the vacancies and run the department right.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors has directed Chaffee to make an accurate assessment of the problems facing the agency and to urge state officials to increase funding for the department.

Threat by Workers

The staffing problem first came to the attention of county supervisors in February when 512 social workers threatened to stop accepting new cases of child abuse and neglect. The supervisors then granted the department $500,000 in emergency aid to hire 70 workers and 12 clerks.

In a letter to the supervisors, Chaffee wrote, “After reviewing our budget projections . . . sufficient revenue remains to permit further limited hiring.”

But Hall said “limited hiring” is not enough. He claimed that morale is extremely low in the department and that children will feel the brunt of the understaffing.

“They’re not doing enough to give people real hope that the situation is going to change,” he said.

Supervisor Ed Edelman, who said Tuesday that the department has become a “recurrent problem,” said he directed Chaffee to report to the board May 2 because he is “concerned we are not holding our own” against rising caseloads and falling numbers of workers.

“Are we making progress or are we playing a game? I’m afraid we may be losing the battle,” he said.

In addition to reporting on the number of workers, caseloads and vacancies, the board also directed Chaffee to meet with Linda McMahon, state Department of Social Services director, to “make her aware of the problem” and to ask Gov. George Deukmejian for more money.