About 200 Los Angeles County social workers demonstrated in front of county headquarters in downtown L.A. on Wednesday, demanding that their contract be reopened to improve working conditions by reducing their caseloads.
Members of the SEIU 721, representing 4,000 social workers employed by the county Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), rallied on the plaza of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, chanting slogans about union power and waving signs that said, “Protect Our Children” and “Children’s Social Workers Demand Real Solutions.”
David Green, union president and longtime county social worker said the Wednesday rally was not about money. Instead, the group delivered a letter to Tim Pescatello, county employee relations manager, asking that the contract be reopened. The union is asking for the county to reduce caseloads to approximately 15 cases per social worker, so they can process cases more quickly and protect families and children.
The union said having 22 cases per worker is “above the accepted rate of 15 per social worker to ensure child safety.” Fifteen cases involving children per social worker should not be exceeded, according to the Child Welfare League of America.
The problem becomes acute with social workers handling cases that involve transferring children from foster care into permanent placements. The adoption social workers can be assigned up to 55 cases per worker, Green said.
When social workers are overburdened, it slows down the process, leaving foster children waiting for months or even years to find a permanent placement, Green said. “The solution is to hire additional adoption social workers. That way, we can expedite the move to permanency and literally improve the lives of people in Los Angeles County,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.
A statement released by the DCFS on Wednesday praised their workers, whom they said were at the heart of the department’s mission, namely protecting…
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