Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
NJ Caseworkers Back to Work; Reforms Underway
Seven suspended CWA members at New Jersey's Department of Youth and Family Services have been reinstated with back pay as the child welfare system begins instituting reforms long urged by union members.
Union leaders said the seven workers were treated as "scapegoats" by the state in the wake of a high profile case involving a family whose children were found starving. CWA said the agency was under funded and understaffed, forcing employees to juggle unmanageable caseloads of children in need of protection.
Five of the workers are back on the job, another retired and one left to go to graduate school, said Paul Alexander, assistant to Local 1034 President Carla Katz.
Alexander said the case of the starving boys was a catalyst for change, finally waking up the state to the dire need for change CWA had demanded for years. "What happened in this home was absolutely tragic and that helped identify some unbelievably serious systemic problems. This allowed the union to negotiate some unprecedented agreements to improve the way services are delivered in this state," he said.
For the first time, caseworkers will have limits on the number of cases they have to juggle, something CWA has always said is imperative to protecting children.
"CWA negotiated an agreement with the state of New Jersey that provides not only for caseload limitations, but I think it is the most far reaching child protective services agreement in the country," Local 1037 President Hetty Rosenstein said. "It addresses caseloads, new case practice, clerical, career ladders, ongoing education for our members and very strenuous job security provisions. And we do think that within two years we will have possibly the lowest caseloads in the country, from what were probably the highest."
The limit is 25 children, if 10 of those children are in out-of-home placements. Caseworkers can exceed 25 children if more of the cases involve children in their own homes, but a system is in place to trigger a review process if the number grows.
To put that in perspective, Alexander said average caseloads have been in the range of 40 to 50, and sometimes twice that - or more. "I have one caseworker who, as of a month or two ago, had 200 kids under his supervision," he said.
The state has already begun hiring and training new employees and ultimately the number of caseload-carrying caseworkers will grow from about 1,500 to 1,600 now to more than 2,200, Alexander said. The number of DYFS employees represented by CWA will grow to about 4,000, an increase of 25 percent, Rosenstein said.
She said union members did an excellent job of helping state officials and the public understand how overwhelming their caseloads were. "We have shop stewards who have worked on this for 12 to 15 years," she said. "This is a testament to their work."
CWA's agreement with the state spells out that the union now owns the work, not just the job titles. Without the agreement, management has been able to subcontract duties in the past.
While the full transition will take about two years, union leaders said they're optimistic that real change is underway. "This isn't just a victory for the union, it really is a victory for kids, because it guarantees better outcomes for children," Alexander said.
Union leaders said the seven workers were treated as "scapegoats" by the state in the wake of a high profile case involving a family whose children were found starving. CWA said the agency was under funded and understaffed, forcing employees to juggle unmanageable caseloads of children in need of protection.
Five of the workers are back on the job, another retired and one left to go to graduate school, said Paul Alexander, assistant to Local 1034 President Carla Katz.
Alexander said the case of the starving boys was a catalyst for change, finally waking up the state to the dire need for change CWA had demanded for years. "What happened in this home was absolutely tragic and that helped identify some unbelievably serious systemic problems. This allowed the union to negotiate some unprecedented agreements to improve the way services are delivered in this state," he said.
For the first time, caseworkers will have limits on the number of cases they have to juggle, something CWA has always said is imperative to protecting children.
"CWA negotiated an agreement with the state of New Jersey that provides not only for caseload limitations, but I think it is the most far reaching child protective services agreement in the country," Local 1037 President Hetty Rosenstein said. "It addresses caseloads, new case practice, clerical, career ladders, ongoing education for our members and very strenuous job security provisions. And we do think that within two years we will have possibly the lowest caseloads in the country, from what were probably the highest."
The limit is 25 children, if 10 of those children are in out-of-home placements. Caseworkers can exceed 25 children if more of the cases involve children in their own homes, but a system is in place to trigger a review process if the number grows.
To put that in perspective, Alexander said average caseloads have been in the range of 40 to 50, and sometimes twice that - or more. "I have one caseworker who, as of a month or two ago, had 200 kids under his supervision," he said.
The state has already begun hiring and training new employees and ultimately the number of caseload-carrying caseworkers will grow from about 1,500 to 1,600 now to more than 2,200, Alexander said. The number of DYFS employees represented by CWA will grow to about 4,000, an increase of 25 percent, Rosenstein said.
She said union members did an excellent job of helping state officials and the public understand how overwhelming their caseloads were. "We have shop stewards who have worked on this for 12 to 15 years," she said. "This is a testament to their work."
CWA's agreement with the state spells out that the union now owns the work, not just the job titles. Without the agreement, management has been able to subcontract duties in the past.
While the full transition will take about two years, union leaders said they're optimistic that real change is underway. "This isn't just a victory for the union, it really is a victory for kids, because it guarantees better outcomes for children," Alexander said.