Q&A
ACS staff caseloads and workload management
1:15:02
·
64 sec
Council Member Rita C. Joseph inquires about the caseloads of ACS staff, expressing concern about large caseloads potentially causing children to fall through the cracks. Commissioner Jess Dannhauser responds with information on current caseload management and staffing levels.
- Dannhauser states that 98% of ACS staff have caseloads under 12, which is the national standard.
- ACS has the lowest caseloads in the state and possibly in most places in the country.
- The agency has been actively hiring and now has the highest number of active Child Protective Specialists (CPS) in years.
Rita C. Joseph
1:15:02
One of your staffers, what does the caseload look like for them?
1:15:05
Because that's one of the things we heard a lot.
1:15:07
It is.
1:15:08
Staff has huge caseloads, and sometimes kids get fall through the crack because of the caseloads.
Jess Dannhauser
1:15:13
It's so important.
1:15:14
You know, in my career, at ACS and other places, workload is an essential factor to get right if we get it wrong, and, we really get ourselves off track.
1:15:26
There's 7a half today.
1:15:28
We have 98% of our staff have caseloads under 12 because an average can can skew it.
1:15:34
So 12 is the national standard, and so we're always making sure we're not only looking at the average, but looking at how many staff are below that national standard.
1:15:42
We have the lowest caseloads in the state, and I'd probably argue, in most places in the country.
1:15:47
This is an investment, and I'm grateful to OMB and others that we have not stepped off the gas.
1:15:53
There was there was during the previous administration, there was a pause in hiring during the pandemic.
1:16:00
We got right to work and have been hiring ever since, and we now have the highest number of active CPS that we've had in years.
