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CWA Winning Long Battle in NJ
After years of fighting to reform New Jersey's troubled child welfare system, CWA locals are cautiously optimistic about a sweeping plan for change that includes hiring 1,500 new workers and putting a cap on caseloads.
About 1,000 of the new hires at the Department of Youth and Family Services will be front-line workers represented by CWA. Presently, locals represent 3,000 DYFS caseworkers.
Through reports, lobbying and other efforts to raise public awareness, CWA leaders and members in New Jersey have long fought to increase staff and funding and make other fundamental changes in the system to better protect children. Now many of their recommendations are part of the plan put forth this week by the state's Department of Human Services.
"This is the culmination of over 10 years of work," Local 1037 President Hetty Rosenstein said. "It's not perfect, and we'll be hammering away at some of the problems over the next 30 days. But in terms of the foundation, it's remarkable. It's huge amounts of money, huge resources coming in - a thousand new people. It's going to make a huge difference."
Rosenstein and CWA Local 1034 President Carla Katz said caseworkers have been spread dangerously thin over the years, sometimes accumulating more than 100 reported cases of neglected and abused children. Now, depending on the type of cases assigned, workers will have a maximum of either eight or 15 referrals a month.
"Our members' single-most critical concern is the safety of New Jersey's children," Katz said. "These proposed reforms finally move us all in the direction of ensuring that every one of them is well cared for and protected."
In addition to caseload caps and new hires, the plan calls for increasing the monthly rate for foster parents, having forensically trained investigators respond to all allegations of abuse or neglect within 24 hours, and spending millions of dollars on a vast array of local support services for at-risk families. Further, the plan calls for an unprecedented level of cooperation and partnership with local communities to help struggling families before they become part of the DYFS caseload.
About 1,000 of the new hires at the Department of Youth and Family Services will be front-line workers represented by CWA. Presently, locals represent 3,000 DYFS caseworkers.
Through reports, lobbying and other efforts to raise public awareness, CWA leaders and members in New Jersey have long fought to increase staff and funding and make other fundamental changes in the system to better protect children. Now many of their recommendations are part of the plan put forth this week by the state's Department of Human Services.
"This is the culmination of over 10 years of work," Local 1037 President Hetty Rosenstein said. "It's not perfect, and we'll be hammering away at some of the problems over the next 30 days. But in terms of the foundation, it's remarkable. It's huge amounts of money, huge resources coming in - a thousand new people. It's going to make a huge difference."
Rosenstein and CWA Local 1034 President Carla Katz said caseworkers have been spread dangerously thin over the years, sometimes accumulating more than 100 reported cases of neglected and abused children. Now, depending on the type of cases assigned, workers will have a maximum of either eight or 15 referrals a month.
"Our members' single-most critical concern is the safety of New Jersey's children," Katz said. "These proposed reforms finally move us all in the direction of ensuring that every one of them is well cared for and protected."
In addition to caseload caps and new hires, the plan calls for increasing the monthly rate for foster parents, having forensically trained investigators respond to all allegations of abuse or neglect within 24 hours, and spending millions of dollars on a vast array of local support services for at-risk families. Further, the plan calls for an unprecedented level of cooperation and partnership with local communities to help struggling families before they become part of the DYFS caseload.