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Department of Children and Families vows changes in wake of audit report

Martin Desmarais
Department of Children and Families vows changes in wake of audit report
Secretary of Health and Human Services John Polanowicz has charged the Department of Children and Families with following the recommendations from a recent audit report that found the department lacking in its abilities to help the state’s children.

The Child Welfare League of America has found that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families is seriously lacking in its abilities to help the state’s children due to the department’s out-of-date policies, high caseloads, inadequate technology and no system in place to make things better.

However, DCF and state officials say the work is already under way to improve the department.

Released last week, the 75-page report comes as a result of a four-month independent review of the department by CWLA, a national advocacy organization for disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services tapped the CWLA to complete the third-party report in January in response to concerns about the safety of children served by the DCF. In particular, the review was triggered by a public outcry over the death of Jeremiah Oliver, a 5-year-old from Fitchburg who was found dead while under DCF supervision.

Jeremiah was first reported missing in December 2013, but subsequent investigation revealed the child had actually been missing since September of last year and that DCF caseworkers lied about failing to conduct home visits in the case.

In April, the 5-year-old’s body was found inside a suitcase off Interstate 90. His mother and boyfriend are facing charges in the case and the incident has led to the firing of three DCF employees.

The CWLA report cited a lack of evidence to blame DCF for the death, but found that the department staff did not do their jobs as required and were responsible for failing to protect Jeremiah.

With former DCF Commissioner Olga Roche already having resigned and Interim Commissioner Erin Deveney in place, the department has launched a plan to implement some of the changes called for by the report, including addressing issues in staffing and budgeting, technology, policy and practice, medical services and substance abuse services.

The report has the backing of Secretary of Health and Human Services John Polanowicz and Gov. Deval Patrick.

“We have no greater responsibility as a Commonwealth than to keep our most vulnerable residents safe,” Gov. Patrick said in a statement. “I am grateful to the Child Welfare League of America for their thoughtful and comprehensive road map for how DCF can better keep children secure and families strong. I have charged Interim Commissioner Deveney with implementing these recommendations consistently and transparently, and to work with our partners both in and out of state government to build on the improvements that have already been made at the department.”

Polanowicz called the report’s recommendations well thought-out and said the DCF would implement changes to “help keep children safe.”

“We find the report and its recommendation to be thoughtful, objective and fair. The report is an important roadmap for the department. The recommendation recognizes those areas in which the department is promoting children and protecting their safety and promoting their families and also identifying areas where we can make further progress,” said DCF Interim Commissioner Deveney.

At the heart of the matter are the high caseloads on DCF’s social workers. In a 2013 agreement with SEIU 509, the union that represents the departments’ social workers, the caseload maximum was set at 15 per social worker. But the report found that the ratio is approximately 20 cases per social worker. SEUI 509 has repeatedly argued that the high caseload is a main factor in DCF’s troubles.

According to Deveney, DCF has already hired 200 new social workers and staff since January, with a goal of hitting the 15-case-load-per-social -worker ratio that the union agreement stipulated.

“This will help to reduce the concern about current levels of case loads,” Deveney said.

Another surprising finding from the CWLA report was the woefully inadequate use of technology by the DCF’s social workers — namely that many did not have cell phones or mobile devices that allowed them to input case information into a database and contact supervisors in a timely fashion while in the field.

In March, DCF issued 54 tablets to on-call supervisors. But considering last week’s report concluded the department workers in the field were the most in need of up-to-date mobile technology, this move appeared misguided. DCF has now announced it will issue 2,000 additional tablets to social workers and staff in the field, beginning in June.

Deveney was quick to point out that DCF’s improvement efforts have been ongoing and that the report only serves to reinforce the need for the changes they are making.

“While we have anxiously awaited the final recommendations, it is important for the public to be aware that the department has been making improvements in hiring and technology,” she said. “We haven’t just been waiting. We have been engaged in progress while we have been waiting for the final report.”

DCF interim head was also quick to point out that a lot of the changes called for by the report are reliant on state funding to be implemented.

“The Legislature will play an important role as we move forward with these recommendations,” Deveney said.

Gov. Deval Patrick has called for $9.2 million additional funding in the state’s fiscal year 2015 budget for the new DCF staff and technology improvements. The House and Senate have topped that number, proposing $14.2 million in the House and $11.4 million in the Senate.

Deveney is hopeful that at least the governor’s figure will pass through in the final state budget. Last year, DCF received $2.8 million in additional funding from the state, so the higher proposed numbers do reflect an intended commitment from legislators.

As a result of the report, DCF will put together what it is a calling a “kitchen cabinet” of child welfare advocates, experts, community leaders and state policy-makers to oversee the department’s efforts to make changes.

“This group, which is a collaborative effort, is intended to ensure the public that the department is doing everything it can to implement the findings of CWLA,” Deveney said.

Deveney grouped the report recommendation and necessary changes into short-term, mid-range and long-term objectives. She said the department is already working on the short-term changes, such as staffing and technology issues, and depending on funding, can address mid-range issues in the next year and also start to lay the foundation for long-term objectives.