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Westmoreland County Announces Plans to Improve Children's
Bureau -- Improvements
Based on Task Force Recommendations
Posted 02-09-2006
The
Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners today announced a series of
improvements to enhance services provided to families by the county
Children's Bureau. The actions are based on recent findings by the
Children's Bureau Task Force -- an independent panel that conducted a
comprehensive study of the Bureau for more than a year.
"One of the most important
roles of government is to help those who face the greatest challenges,
and this is especially significant in county government where human
service programs are our primary mission," said Commission Chairman Tom
Balya. "The work of the Task Force will go a long way toward
strengthening the services we provide. All residents of Westmoreland
County -- not just those who use the services of the Children's Bureau
-- owe this group a debt of gratitude for their service."
Commissioners convened
the task force, made up of community representatives from a wide variety
of applicable disciplines, in September 2004. To arrive at its
conclusions, the group conducted interviews of Children’s Bureau
management and staff, examined case files, reviewed applicable laws and
regulations, and solicited comments from the public.
"The task force
represented a group of individuals who were dedicated to accomplish a
goal to help strengthen the lines of communication and make
recommendations regarding the agency," said Commissioner Tom Ceraso. "I
want to take this opportunity to thank them for the time and effort they
put forth in this project and to thank the employees for being
cooperative with the task force. I believe that with a joint venture we
can be successful in implementing their recommendations."
"The efforts of the task
force are truly appreciated," said Commissioner Phil Light. "Their
in-depth examination of the department's administrative policies will
greatly enhance our ability to develop better caseworkers, supervisors
and managers."
The task force concluded
its report with 22 recommendations to improve the Bureau. The
recommendations can be broken down into three general categories:
Facilities and Equipment, Personnel and Workload, and Outreach and
Communications.
Facilities and
Equipment
The task force
recommended that the Bureau be given more space and that each caseworker
be provided a cell phone, camera, and e-mail accounts, and have more
readily available computer access. Additionally, the task force
recommended a technology consultant to develop an affordable, secure
data system for speedy and accurate information exchange.
Through a partnership
with the new Westmoreland Development Council, the Children's Bureau
will be moving from the Courthouse Annex into new space in 2007. The
Bureau will move into two floors to be built atop the Courthouse
Extension Building, behind the County Courthouse, that will
approximately double its current space.
To meet technological
demands, each caseworker will soon be issued a cell phone with digital
photography capabilities, and all workers now have desktop computer
availability, with Internet access and e-mail capability being
finalized. The county also has begun developing a new computer program,
modeled after a successful Crawford County program, to better share
important, time-sensitive case information among workers.
Personnel and
Workload
The task force
recommended that caseloads be limited to no more than 16 for assessment
workers and no more than 17 for treatment workers, and that caseloads
for new hires, including new supervisors be lessened. The task force
also recommended more prompt filling of staff vacancies, encouraging and
rewarding promotion through the ranks, salary uniformity, enhanced
training for both caseworkers and supervisors, and more minority
representation.
Regarding caseloads,
Westmoreland County is currently well below the existing thresholds
mandated by the state government (30/1 for caseworks and 5/1 for
supervisors) and meets the desired target of the task force. The
county's average daily caseload is 17 cases per worker, with less for
new hires. Changes to the current 30/1 ratio requirement are currently
proposed at the state level that would lower, over three years, that
ratio to the 17/1 -- again, a figure that Westmoreland County currently
maintains. In addition, Westmoreland County's internal standards for
direct contact in active cases (visiting families every month) exceed
existing state requirements.
Regarding vacancies,
certain approved, positions have been left vacant simply due to a lack
of space -- a situation that will be rectified with the increased
accommodations in the new building. The Bureau, while still obligated to
adhere to Civil Service hiring practices, has recently managed to
decrease the amount of time it takes to hire new personnel by
eliminating some burdensome, and often repetitive, paperwork and by
working more cooperatively with the State Civil Service Commission.
The county has undertaken
initiatives to make promotions more attractive, while offering better
training for personnel. Given the intricacies of union contracts and
bargained annual pay raises, it can be a challenge to promote qualified
workers into the management ranks. The Commissioners are working with
the county's Human Resources Department and the County Controllers
Office to revise the current salary scales, pay policies and job
descriptions to ensure that supervisors are being fairly compensated and
that the proper financial incentives are in place for promotions.
In the area of training,
the Bureau has initiated an Organizational Effectiveness Training
Program through the State Child Welfare Training Program and facilitated
by the Washington D.C.-based American Public Human Services Association.
Regarding minority
participation and recruitment, the county is committed to its
non-discrimination policy and to hiring the best people available within
the confines of Civil Service requirements. Given the demographics of
Westmoreland County (only 3 percent minority), minority hiring remains a
constant challenge.
Outreach and
Communications
The task force
recommended that the Children’s Bureau develop a comprehensive public
awareness plan, enhance internal communication, interact more regularly
with the Board of Commissioners for update reports and guidance,
recognize employee performance and enhance the Bureau's Advisory Board.
While not legally
permitted to review sensitive case information, Commissioners have
committed to more regular interaction with Children's Bureau management
as it relates to organization and internal policies. The Children's
Bureau management team is also working to improve internal communication
to foster accountability and consistency among all workers through more
regularly scheduled staff and management-level meetings.
Plans are also
being developed to expand the membership and duties of the current
advisory board to include policy development and public outreach. A
recently revamped Children’s Bureau web site (available through the
county's homepage at
www.co.westmoreland.pa.us)
is a step toward more active public outreach and making more accessible
the Bureau's myriad of services and programs. The Commissioners and
Children's Bureau management also plan to work with the advisory board
on ways to better recognize exemplary performance by workers. The
commissioners have extended an invitation to the task force members to
serve on the board.
Working with Family Court
Judge Christopher Feliciani, the Commissioners are pursuing entrance
into the Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program -- a volunteer
program designed to meet the needs of particularly complex Children's
Bureau cases. The concept allows for an advocate to be assigned to
monitor a specific child in the system and would authorize that person
to appear in court and advocate on the child's behalf. The advocate
typically works in conjunction with the caseworker and guardian in a
given case. What differentiates this program, however, is that the
advocate becomes more intimately and personally familiar with the
child's medical history, medical appointments, mental health history,
etc., as well as the relevant family history associated with his/her
case.
"When we established the
task force, it was never designed to be a condemnation of anyone's work
or of the Bureau as a whole," Commissioner Balya said. "The Task Force's
recommendations are solid, appreciated and, in many cases, well-timed.
While it is certainly heartening that they found that the Children's
Bureau is fulfilling its mission overall, that mission is far too
important to ever get complacent. Constant improvement must always be
our goal."
The Task Force's
report is available through the Westmoreland County homepage at
www.co.westmoreland.pa.us (keyword:
"children"). Due to legal confidential requirements of specific case
information, only the executive summary is available to the public. |
