READING \u2014 The agency tasked with helping keep children safe from abuse and neglect in Berks County doesn\u2019t have enough caseworkers, a shortage it says is fueling staff turnover and forcing the privatization of certain services.<\/p>\n
The county\u2019s Children & Youth Services has seen staff shortages grow since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It currently employs about 73 direct service caseworkers and has 31 vacancies.<\/p>\n
The vacancy rate \u201cconsistently hovers around 30%,\u201d Jennifer O\u2019Neill, deputy administrator for the agency, said at a July 11 public hearing.<\/p>\n
To manage a shortage of people who investigate abuse, the agency has shifted duties to employees in other departments, a practice O\u2019Neill says has led to departures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat, of course, put some strain on those departments, and this past spring, we saw \u2014 particularly in the in-home department, [which provides<\/a> services so children can stay with their families] \u2014 a loss of staff,\u201d O\u2019Neill said. \u201cDoubling up on the workload became a little bit too challenging for them.\u201d<\/p>\n The agency has focused its hiring effort on the intake department, which is almost fully staffed, O\u2019Neill said.<\/p>\n Still, it has had to privatize duties such as licensing for foster parents, foster care oversight, and \u201cfamily group decision making\u201d (FGDM) conferences. At the latter, caseworkers and facilitators help families deemed at risk for abuse or neglect create a plan for their children to remain safe in their home.<\/p>\n The agency started outsourcing all FGDM work to private providers this spring, though it still has one caseworker and one supervisor trained to oversee these conferences in case of an emergency.<\/p>\n There have been four conferences so far this calendar year. Three were run by the county and one by a provider agency.<\/p>\n \u201cTurnover in our FGDM unit has been a challenge, and this is the cause for a reduction in the number of conferences offered,\u201d read a presentation the agency shared during the hearing.<\/p>\n Staffing issues are not unique to Berks County. Children and youth agencies across the state have been struggling for years to recruit and retain workers<\/p>\n Before the pandemic, a 30% vacancy would have been considered a \u201cpretty serious crisis<\/a>,\u201d Brian Bornman, executive director of the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators Association, previously told Spotlight PA.<\/p>\n Now, many counties face shortages that are bad or worse.<\/p>\n Between fiscal years 2018 and 2023, 3,500 county children and youth caseworkers, including supervisors, left their jobs<\/a>, according to a study by PFM Group Consulting<\/a> commissioned by the state\u2019s Office of Children, Youth and Families. Almost half of the employees left within their first two years on the job.<\/p>\n In a survey conducted as part of the state\u2019s study, more than 9 in 10 caseworkers from 10 county agencies said pay levels are \u201cvery influential\u201d or \u201cinfluential\u201d on their decision to remain in their jobs. More than half of the respondents said they had to work a second job to supplement their income.<\/p>\n