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Sabrina Schultz loved to work with children, but after three years as a Child Protective Services worker, she left the job due to demoralizing tasks that took time away from serving the children in her care.
Working in Pleasants, Ritchie and Doddridge counties from 2020-2023, she described multiple challenges, such as working long hours and spending time logging data on case counts and visits that could have been spent with children.
“I didn’t like having that mindset, because I don’t think that a child should just be a number,” she said.
In West Virginia, child protective workers report they are understaffed and strained. The overload can lead to delayed safety investigations, and fewer visits with families who need help.
In a bill receiving little attention, Gov. Patrick Morrisey proposes a way to address the chronic workforce challenge in CPS. But instead of a proposal for more workers, the legislation reallocates them around the state when counties experience spikes in cases.
“Unfortunately, the (Department of Human Services) is often faced with understaffing, and when this occurs, it must be able to react,” said Curtis Capehart, director of policy for the Morrisey administration, when explaining House Bill 4022 before the House Committee on Health and Human Resources.
Time after time, Morrisey and his Department of Human Services have promoted their advances in filling vacant child protective services positions.
And to be sure, vacancy rates have improved in the last few years, from when the state had about one-third of positions vacant to now about 9%. But if the CPS workforce vacancies were filled today, West Virginia would still need dozens more workers to reach the recommended goal.
Previously, CPS worker allocation by district was based on average case count on an annual basis.
The bill says the DoHS may “adjust the allocation and station of child protective services workers based on immediate needs of each county, as demonstrated by the present referrals and caseload,” instead.
Commissioner of the Bureau for Social Services Lorie Bragg characterized the change as positions being shifted from one district to another as positions became vacant.
But DoHS spokesperson Angel Hightower did not answer questions about whether the state might ask workers to leave their homes and move to another community at any time as a result of the bill.
When Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha, asked if workers “can be moved to a different county based on needs,” Capehart responded “Yes.”
Lewis also expressed concern that workers moving wouldn’t be as familiar with communities and able to connect kids and families with the resources they need.
The bill passed the House of Delegates on Jan. 27. It now goes to the state Senate.
The vaguely worded bill is not a solution.
Schultz, the former CPS worker, suggested that if lawmakers want to move people based on need, they could set up a floating, mobile team, not ask people to move, which could result in more workers quitting.
Dr. Anita Barbee, a professor at the University of Louisville who has conducted extensive research on CPS workforce, said that if state leaders genuinely wanted to make research-backed workforce improvements, they’d need to do much more.
“This is a temporary solution to a bigger problem,” said Barbee, who is also director of the PhD program at the university’s School of Social Work and Family Science.
She said state officials could be working on ensuring some case workers don’t have vastly more cases than others. And she predicts their case loads will only increase as federal policy, such as Medicaid cuts, weakens safety net protections and poverty increases.
The Child Welfare League of America, an advocacy group composed of experts like researchers and workers, argues for measuring cases by child and not exceeding 15 children per caseworker. But West Virginia caseworkers oversee many more cases at a time – and the state considers a “case” to be one family, not one kid.
Morrisey has not proposed changing maximum caseloads, and his office did not respond to questions about any other staffing or workforce reforms he’s pursuing.
Hightower, DoHS spokesperson, said workforce initiatives have also included more training for supervisors and workers.
But Barbee also recommended more hiring, focusing on retention and connecting workers exposed to trauma with therapy. Retention saves money, she noted.
“People leave this job because it’s stressful or because they aren’t a good fit,” she said. “So you can work at the front end and hire better people, who are suited to the job, who are more likely to stay.”
State officials could redesign the hiring process to select people best-suited for the skills needed for the job, she said.
She also suggested designating administrative tasks to one person.
The governor had asked House Leadership, including Speaker of the House of Delegates Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, and Minority Leader Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, to introduce the bill on his behalf, which they did.
Leadership introducing a governor’s bill is a tradition at the Capitol, although not a requirement.
Hornbuckle, who also went on to vote for the bill, called the bill a step in the right direction, but also acknowledged additional work to be done. He said he doesn’t have a bill for pay raises to encourage full staffing, but he’s open to working with other lawmakers on that.
Schultz said workers need more freedom to refer some cases to services that could prevent removal, so they could dedicate more time to other emergency cases.
“I think we are too focused on putting out fires instead of stopping the fires from occurring,” she said.
Del. Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette and Assistant Majority Leader, said that the Department of Human Services can make workforce reforms without legislation. But even with added pay or incentives, he added that they’ll still be charged with an abundance of cases, and the state is still having problems recruiting.
“I think that has more to do with just inherently how difficult the job is and how emotionally taxing it is,” he said. “And to be honest with you, I don’t know what the answer is.”
Reach reporter Erin Beck at erin@mountainstatespotlight.org
