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Child protective specialist caseload ratios and management
4:22:58
ยท
107 sec
Council Member Althea V. Stevens inquires about child protective specialist caseload ratios and management. Commissioner Jess Dannhauser provides information on current ratios and case management practices.
- The current caseload ratio is 7.1 cases per child protective specialist
- The national standard is 12 cases, and ACS aims to keep the ratio below this for more thorough work
- There has been an increase from 936 active case-carrying CPS in March 2023 to 1,127 in March 2025
- ACS does not track hours spent on individual cases but uses time studies for allocation
- Complex cases are managed at the borough level, with adjustments made to pending rotations for specialists handling difficult situations
Althea V. Stevens
4:22:58
Child protective specialists are often one of the first intersections with family with ACS and it's critical to ensure those specialists are attentive and aware of each individual case.
4:23:10
Part of making this happen is tied to their caseload and ensuring child protective specialists are not overwhelmed.
4:23:19
What is the current caseload ratio per child protection specialist?
Jess Dannhauser
4:23:23
Just got the report as we walked in 7.1.
Althea V. Stevens
4:23:27
Seven point one.
4:23:30
What is the additional ratio for ECS preference?
4:23:33
How is the ratio determined?
Jess Dannhauser
4:23:35
So the national standard is 12 and our job is to keep it below so they can do more thorough work.
Sheruku Daffy
4:23:43
We have
Jess Dannhauser
4:23:43
in March of 'twenty three we had nine thirty six active CPS, case carrying CPS for both protective diagnostic and cares.
4:23:54
As of March 25 we have eleven twenty seven, so nearly a 200 CPS increase in active.
4:24:01
And so we're continuing to make sure that the services that are there, the support is there, that we're both supporting families and making sure we're taking children.
Althea V. Stevens
4:24:10
Does ACS collect information on how many hours are spent on each case?
Jess Dannhauser
4:24:16
There are time studies that are done to allocate but we don't look at it per case.
4:24:22
There is part of supervision and management is looking at a pending rotation.
4:24:29
So when a child protective specialist is up for the next case assignment, if they have a very, very complicated case or they've had to do a removal then they might be skipped on that pending.
4:24:43
So it's actively managed at the borough level.