1
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE CHILDREN & YOUTH COMMITTEE
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2016 10:02 A.M.
PENNSYLVANIA CHILD WELFARE RESOURCE CENTER THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH 403 EAST WINDING HILL ROAD MECHANICSBURG, PA 17055
PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING TRAINING & ACADEMIC CAREER PATHS FOR CHILD WELFARE CASEWORKERS
BEFORE: HONORABLE KATHARINE WATSON, MAJORITY CHAIR HONORABLE SCOTT CONKLIN, MINORITY CHAIR HONORABLE DAN MOUL, VICE CHAIR HONORABLE TEDD NESBIT HONORABLE PATTY KIM HONORABLE JOANNA MCCLINTON HONORABLE GREG ROTHMAN
Any reproduction of this transcript is prohibited without authorization by the certifying agency. 2
COMMITTEE STAFF PRESENT GREGORY GRASA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HOUSE CHILDREN AND YOUTH COMMITTEE
PHILIP FALVO DEMOCRATIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 3
I N D E X
OPENING REMARKS By Majority Chairwoman Watson 4 - 7 By Democratic Chairman Conklin 7 - 8
PRESENTATION By Dr. Cahalane 9 - 19
DISCUSSION AMONG PARTIES 19 - 21
QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS 21 - 29
PRESENTATION By Ms. Hannah 30 - 35
QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS 36 - 49
PRESENTATION By Mr. Byers 50 - 57
QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS 57 - 62
PRESENTATION By Ms. Breitsprecher 63 - 70
QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS 70 - 73
PRESENTATION By Ms. Moore 73 - 88
CLOSING REMARKS By Democratic Chairman Conklin 89 - 91 By Chairwoman Watson 91 - 93 4
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ------
3 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Good morning. And in
4 case you're new to it, that's what they give you when
10:02:43 5 you get to be a Chairman, you get --- or actually, I
10:02:44 6 brought my own gavel. I was so excited, so --- and
10:02:49 7 that is how we open meetings. But it is a bit starling
10:02:50 8 if you are new.
10:02:51 9 Good morning, and certainly welcome. It's
10:02:55 10 time to convene the public hearing of the House
10:02:57 11 Children & Youth Committee. I would ask respectfully,
10:03:00 12 would each of you check your cell phone, make sure ---
10:03:04 13 I call it stun, but you mean it doesn't --- it only
10:03:08 14 vibrates, it doesn't have a fabulous ring that you
10:03:11 15 particularly love. But we don't want them going off
10:03:14 16 during the hearing. So if you would set it on silent,
17 that would be great.
10:03:18 18 And at this time, when we're offsite our
10:03:21 19 Secretary does not come with us, but Mr. Grasa, who is
10:03:24 20 our Executive Director but does a multitude of things,
10:03:29 21 you're taking the role.
10:03:32 22 REPRESENTATIVE GRASA: Yes, I am.
23 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Yes, sir.
24 ROLLCALL TAKEN
25 REPRESENTATIVE GASA: Total present, four. 5
10:04:49 1 CHAIRMAN WATSON: And there are several
10:04:52 2 that had said they would be here. But it is offsite.
10:04:53 3 And hopefully, directions worked. But we might have
10:04:56 4 somebody wandering around a little bit and come in
10:04:59 5 late. Thank you.
10:05:02 6 We've gathered here this morning at the
10:05:04 7 Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center, to continue
10:05:07 8 our Committee's commitment and ongoing examination of
10:05:12 9 Pennsylvania's child welfare system and county children
10:05:17 10 and youth agencies with the objective, and I think it's
10:05:20 11 important to say that, of sustaining and improving that
10:05:24 12 system as it continues its vital mission. That's the
10:05:31 13 idea. We're here to make things better, and to find
10:05:34 14 out how to go about that in an organized way.
10:05:38 15 Today's hearing will focus on the Academic
10:05:46 16 Degree Program --- Programs, plural, and the subsequent
10:05:46 17 training for child welfare workers designed to develop
10:05:50 18 and prepare the best possible professionals for what is
10:05:54 19 a very specialized and a very demanding career.
10:05:59 20 In addition to learning more about the
10:06:02 21 academic pathways into the profession and the available
10:06:05 22 training for those who are already in the child welfare
10:06:09 23 workforce, we also will be discussing strategies for
10:06:14 24 retention in a career field that is fraught with high
10:06:19 25 turnover rates. And I should say, that that is a high 6
10:06:21 1 turnover rate across the Commonwealth. It can't be
10:06:24 2 sort of, you know, said that, oh, it's just in this
10:06:27 3 particular county or this particular Children & Youth.
10:06:31 4 No. It is indeed, something that is going on in the
10:06:35 5 child welfare field, and it's not for the benefit of
10:06:39 6 the children. So we want --- or the workers
10:06:43 7 themselves, which is why we are looking at it.
10:06:46 8 Efforts to enhance staff recruitment and
10:06:49 9 retention are necessary if the county children and
10:06:53 10 youth agencies are to maintain a stable and a
10:06:57 11 well-prepared workforce in the child welfare system.
10:07:00 12 Certainly, we would like to thank the Child Welfare
10:07:03 13 Resource Center for hosting the hearing today. This
10:07:06 14 facility in concert with the University of Pittsburgh
10:07:11 15 School of Social Work is truly a resource center not
10:07:13 16 just in name only, but in every way possible. The
10:07:19 17 center is a national leader in preparing and supporting
10:07:21 18 child welfare professionals and systems through
10:07:25 19 education, training, research and a commitment to best
10:07:30 20 practice.
10:07:30 21 The Committee will benefit today from
10:07:33 22 hearing testimony from the Director of the Child
10:07:37 23 Welfare Resource Center, a leading faculty member of
10:07:40 24 the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and
10:07:43 25 a graduate of that school's undergraduate and graduate 7
10:07:47 1 programs, CWEB and CWEL. We're also fortunate to have
10:07:52 2 with us, representatives of the National Association of
10:07:57 3 Social Workers and the Administrative Office of the
10:08:00 4 Pennsylvania Courts, who will share their perspectives.
10:08:04 5 Thank you to all of the testifiers and those of you in
10:08:07 6 the audience who are here today. We appreciate your
10:08:10 7 concern, and your interest and time to be here on a
10:08:15 8 Monday morning, bright and early.
10:08:18 9 As we begin today, I certainly would like
10:08:21 10 to reassure everyone that this Committee, the Children
10:08:25 11 & Youth Committee of the Pennsylvania House, wants to
10:08:28 12 be partners with you as we work towards making
10:08:30 13 Pennsylvania's child welfare system the best that it
10:08:34 14 can be. And as we say, what we have adopted that came
10:08:38 15 from the --- I'm blanking out. Our Child Protection
10:08:45 16 Committee was one of the things that this is not for
10:08:47 17 the convenience of the adults, but we constantly look
10:08:54 18 through the prism, but for the protection of children.
10:08:55 19 And I would suggest to you, that if we follow that lots
10:08:58 20 of decisions and thinking are really very easy.
10:09:03 21 Because we are looking for what is best for children,
10:09:05 22 even if it's difficult for the adults.
10:09:08 23 I would now like to introduce Democrat
10:09:13 24 Chairman of the Committee, Chairman Conklin. You might
10:09:14 25 wish some remarks. 8
10:09:15 1 CHAIRMAN CONKIN: Thank you, Chairman
10:09:18 2 Watson. First off, I'd like to thank two more of my
10:09:21 3 Committee members that came in, Joanne McClinton and
10:09:22 4 Patty Kim. Thank you, both, for coming.
10:09:25 5 As the Chairwoman states, it's very
6 important that we take the time today to listen to
7 those individuals that are coming. We know as we're
10:09:34 8 going through the step-by-step process of making sure
10:09:36 9 that our children are safe, some of the legislation
10:09:38 10 that we've done, some people believe it's gone far
10:09:39 11 enough, some people believe it's gone too far, others
10:09:43 12 believe we need to go further. And as we go through
10:09:44 13 these hearing, it's important that we listen as a
10:09:46 14 Committee listen to those individuals that work in the
10:09:49 15 trenches every day, understand exactly what's going on
10:09:53 16 and give us their --- our input. Everything from why
10:09:55 17 they believe the turnover is happening to what they
10:09:58 18 believe that we can do to help out those most
10:10:01 19 vulnerable above us --- among us, should I say.
10:10:03 20 With that Chairlady, I thank you very
10:10:06 21 much. And I'm ready to start.
10:10:07 22 CHAIRMAN WATSON: All right. Very good.
10:10:07 23 We've also now been joined by Representative Greg
10:10:10 24 Rothman. As I said, everybody will find their way
10:10:15 25 eventually. Maybe the directions weren't as good as 9
10:10:16 1 they could have been. There were a lot of left turns
10:10:19 2 that got people confused.
10:10:19 3 All right. We're ready to go. Our first
10:10:22 4 testifier this morning is Dr. Helen Cahalane, a Ph.D.
10:10:29 5 with the University of Pittsburgh's School of Social
10:10:30 6 Work. Professor Cahalane is the principal investigator
10:10:33 7 with the Child Welfare Education and Research Programs,
10:10:38 8 and has been honored as the Chancellor's Distinguished
10:10:42 9 Teacher. Welcome, Professor Cahalane. And thank you
10:10:44 10 for making this trip from Pittsburgh to be with us
10:10:48 11 today. Please begin your testimony when you are ready.
10:10:51 12 And again, we are delighted that you are.
10:10:57 13 DR. CAHALANE: Thank you. Good morning,
10:11:00 14 Chairwoman Watson, Chairman Conklin, Committee Members
10:11:00 15 and Staff. My name is a Dr. Helen Cahalane, and I am
10:11:03 16 the principal investigator of the Child Welfare
17 Education and Research Programs of the University of
10:11:10 18 Pittsburgh School of Social Work. On behalf of the
10:11:15 19 University and Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, I welcome
10:11:17 20 you to the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center.
10:11:19 21 Thank you for your commitment to Pennsylvania's
10:11:21 22 Children, Youth and Families.
10:11:22 23 On April 4th, you heard from a
10:11:25 24 distinguished group of child welfare stakeholders, each
10:11:28 25 of whom passionately articulated the challenges facing 10
10:11:31 1 our system. Despite these challenges, each and every
10:11:34 2 day dedicated child welfare professionals work to keep
10:11:38 3 children safe, to strengthen families and help children
10:11:43 4 achieve permanence. It is with this in mind, that I
10:11:45 5 appreciate the opportunity to further that discussion
10:11:49 6 and to focus on the development of our child welfare
10:11:52 7 workforce.
10:11:53 8 We are fortunate in Pennsylvania, to have
10:11:55 9 a comprehensive continuum dedicated to child welfare
10:11:57 10 education, training, technical assistance,
10:12:01 11 organizational development, practice improvement and
10:12:03 12 research. The partnership that exists between the
10:12:08 13 Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth
10:12:10 14 and Families, the Pennsylvania Children and Youth
10:12:14 15 Administrators and the University of Pittsburgh has
10:12:16 16 enabled us to strengthen the Child Welfare System
10:12:18 17 through collaborative events.
10:12:20 18 Later this morning, you will hear an
10:12:24 19 overview of the Child Welfare Resource Center, and what
10:12:27 20 we do to support and enhance the workforce and the
10:12:29 21 county child welfare agencies. I will focus on our
10:12:33 22 Degree Education Programs and how we work in
10:12:35 23 partnership with 16 universities across the state to
10:12:39 24 provide baccalaureate and graduate education as an
10:12:41 25 important strategy for developing the skill of future 11
10:12:46 1 and current child welfare professionals.
10:12:49 2 University-agency partnerships in child
10:12:51 3 welfare have a long history. In fact, since the
10:12:54 4 beginning of federally-funded child welfare services in
10:12:58 5 1935 with the passage of the Social Security Act,
10:13:01 6 states have been encouraged to use a portion of their
10:13:05 7 funds to support the development of child welfare
10:13:06 8 workers through social work education. Amendments to
10:13:11 9 the Social Security Act, specifically Title IV-B and
10:13:14 10 Title IV-E, provide funding to support training and
10:13:18 11 education partnerships between social work education
10:13:21 12 programs and child welfare agencies.
10:13:24 13 Pennsylvania took advantage of the
10:13:27 14 opportunity to develop a degree education option for
10:13:29 15 its child welfare workforce over 20 years ago, by
10:13:34 16 establishing an interagency agreement between the
10:13:36 17 Department of Public Welfare and the University of
10:13:38 18 Pittsburgh.
10:13:40 19 The university administers two degree
10:13:42 20 education programs in collaboration with 15 other
10:13:46 21 Schools of Social Work throughout the state. Our
10:13:50 22 undergraduate program, Child Welfare Education for
10:13:52 23 Baccalaureates, or CWEB, is designed to recruit new
10:13:56 24 child welfare workers into the field. Our graduate
10:14:02 25 program, Child Welfare Education for Leadership, or 12
10:14:02 1 CWEL, focuses on enhancing the skills and abilities of
10:14:07 2 current child welfare workers through advanced
10:14:08 3 professional education. The mission of these programs
10:14:12 4 is to strengthen child welfare services to children and
10:14:16 5 families by increasing the number of social work
10:14:18 6 educated professionals and equipping them to deal with
10:14:22 7 the increasingly complex demands of public child
10:14:25 8 welfare practice.
10:14:26 9 Our goals include addressing the critical
10:14:28 10 issues of recruitment and retention, which are both
10:14:30 11 national and state-level priorities. We also provide
10:14:34 12 academic and curricular support for child welfare
10:14:39 13 studies to university programs, engage in efforts to
10:14:40 14 promote skills and evidence-based practice, conduct
10:14:43 15 research and evaluation and advocate for practice
10:14:46 16 improvement within the Child Welfare System. Most
10:14:49 17 importantly, our programs support Pennsylvania's effort
10:14:53 18 to retain child welfare professionals by providing an
10:14:59 19 educational career ladder and assisting in the
10:15:00 20 long-term career development of our workforce.
10:15:03 21 The CWEB program is currently in its 15th
10:15:07 22 full academic year of operation. And the CWEL program
10:15:09 23 is now in its 21st year. Both programs have become
10:15:14 24 integrated into the fabric of public child welfare
10:15:16 25 throughout the state, with 99 percent of counties in 13
10:15:21 1 the Commonwealth participating. OCYF Deputy Secretary
10:15:26 2 Utz provided an overview of these programs in her
10:15:26 3 testimony last month. And I will include additional
10:15:30 4 detail today.
10:15:32 5 Through the CWEB program, we prepare
10:15:35 6 undergraduates to enter the field of child welfare.
10:15:36 7 Qualified students receive financial support during
10:15:42 8 their senior year, in return for a commitment to work
10:15:44 9 in one of Pennsylvania's county public child welfare
10:15:46 10 agencies following graduation. Students must
10:15:49 11 satisfactorily complete child welfare coursework and an
10:15:53 12 internship at a public child welfare agency.
10:15:56 13 During the course of the internship most
10:15:58 14 students are able to complete a portion of the
10:16:01 15 competency-based training required for all child
10:16:03 16 welfare caseworkers. Upon graduation, students also
10:16:07 17 receive assistance with their employment search. Over
10:16:11 18 1,000, specifically 1,051, students have graduated from
10:16:17 19 CWEB during the program's 15 years of operation. CWEB
10:16:22 20 graduates have completed internships and have been
10:16:23 21 employed in 90 percent of Pennsylvania's county (sic).
10:16:27 22 Once in the field, they are able to draw
10:16:30 23 on a slid background of on-the-job experience,
10:16:32 24 educational preparation and skill-based training.
10:16:36 25 County child welfare agencies benefit immensely from 14
1 the program, because it addresses a critical child
10:16:41 2 welfare workforce need by providing skilled,
10:16:46 3 entry-level social workers who come to the field with a
10:16:47 4 combination of academic knowledge and exposure to child
10:16:54 5 welfare practice.
10:16:54 6 The CWEL program provides financial
10:16:56 7 support for graduate-level social work education to
10:16:59 8 current employees of public child welfare agencies.
10:17:02 9 Caseworkers, supervisors, managers or administrators of
10:17:07 10 any Pennsylvania county children and youth agency are
10:17:10 11 eligible to apply to participate. CWEL has funded
10:17:13 12 students from 64 counties and 12 Pennsylvania Schools
10:17:19 13 of Social Work on both a full and part-time basis. At
10:17:22 14 the present time, approximately 20 percent of the child
10:17:24 15 welfare workforce consists of a CWEL graduate or a
10:17:30 16 current CWEL student. Additionally, CWEL serves as an
10:17:33 17 educational and career ladder for public child welfare
10:17:35 18 employees. The act of CWEL student enrollment during
10:17:39 19 the current academic year consists of 20 percent CWEB
10:17:44 20 alumni. CWEL reimburses salary and benefits for
10:17:48 21 full-time students, and covers tuition, fees and other
10:17:53 22 expenses for both full and part-time students in return
10:17:55 23 for a commitment to the employing county child welfare
10:17:58 24 agency upon graduation.
10:18:00 25 During the 21 years of the program, 1,282 15
10:18:06 1 child welfare professionals have earned graduate social
10:18:10 2 work degrees. These individuals occupy various
10:18:13 3 positions, ranging from caseworker to administrator.
10:18:17 4 The program has a remarkably successful record of
10:18:20 5 retention, with retention rates averaging 92 percent.
10:18:23 6 Currently, 193 individuals are engaged in
7 child welfare studies through the CWEB and CWEL
10:18:32 8 programs. Eighty (80) at the undergraduate level and
10:18:34 9 113 at the graduate level. We are acknowledged as a
10:18:38 10 model program in the nation. The CWEB and CWEL
10:18:42 11 education programs have been recognized as key
10:18:45 12 strengths in Pennsylvania during both rounds of the
10:18:48 13 Federal Child and Family Services Review. We
10:18:50 14 anticipate no less in round three. Our graduates have
10:18:56 15 assumed leadership roles and practice initiatives
10:18:58 16 throughout the state and actively contribute to shaping
10:19:01 17 the future of child welfare services at the state,
10:19:05 18 local and national level.
19 Graduates are provided direct service,
10:19:09 20 serving as managers and supervisors, mentoring junior
10:19:15 21 colleagues, contributing to training curricula,
10:19:15 22 conducting qualify improvement initiatives and working
10:19:19 23 as child welfare trainers or consultants. We are proud
10:19:23 24 that an increasing number of our child welfare
10:19:25 25 graduates have assumed teaching roles in Schools of 16
10:19:30 1 Social Work throughout the State of Pennsylvania. Many
10:19:31 2 as adjunct professors, others as part-time clinical
10:19:36 3 faculty and some as Directors of Social Work programs.
10:19:38 4 Over 25 years of research findings have
10:19:41 5 highlighted several key areas that guide Pennsylvania's
10:19:45 6 investment in professional social education for the
10:19:52 7 child welfare workforce. And I'll just briefly
10:19:54 8 describe some of them. Graduates of social work
10:19:55 9 programs who specialize in child welfare are more
10:19:57 10 likely to remain in child welfare and experience
10:20:03 11 greater job satisfaction. Social work graduates tend
10:20:05 12 to stay in child welfare longer, come to the agency
10:20:07 13 ready to do the job, make better decisions about child
10:20:11 14 protection and not be overwhelmed. Higher education is
10:20:16 15 essential for developing caseworker competencies.
10:20:19 16 Social work education appears to be related to job
10:20:22 17 retention and staff stability.
10:20:24 18 Both the National Association of Public
10:20:28 19 Child Welfare Administrators and the Child Welfare
10:20:31 20 League of America suggest that Child Protective
10:20:35 21 Services' staff should have what BSW or MSW degree.
10:20:37 22 Along with the results of empirical studies, we have
10:20:41 23 learned much from practice on the front lines of child
10:20:43 24 welfare and listening to the experience of workers,
10:20:47 25 supervisors and administrators. They tell us about 17
10:20:51 1 these key attributes of an adequately prepared and
10:20:54 2 supported workforce. The ability to handle more
10:20:57 3 complex caseloads. The ability to perform tasks more
10:21:03 4 competently. Greater effectiveness in developing
10:21:04 5 permanency plans for children. Increased skill in
10:21:07 6 engaging children and families. The ability to
10:21:11 7 negotiate conflicting job demands. The ability to deal
10:21:13 8 with a critical public, and more negative than positive
10:21:19 9 media attention. Greater job satisfaction.
10:21:21 10 I come before you not as someone from an
10:21:24 11 academic institution who has simply reviewed and
10:21:27 12 conducted research, crunched numbers and reported
10:21:32 13 program statistics. Along with my faculty colleagues
10:21:35 14 at the University of Pittsburgh and those from 15 other
10:21:38 15 Schools of Social Work in Pennsylvania, I serve as an
10:21:42 16 instructor, advisor, field supervisor and mentor of the
10:21:46 17 child welfare students I have spoken of today. No
10:21:50 18 amount of contracts, agreements, budgets, reports,
10:21:54 19 curricula or any other academic and administrative
10:21:58 20 components of these programs can produce a successful
10:22:02 21 outcome without exceptional students.
10:22:06 22 The vast majority of the students selected
10:22:08 23 to participate in the CWEB and CWEL programs have been
10:22:11 24 exceptional achievers academically, as well as leaders
10:22:15 25 among their peers. They have distinguished themselves 18
10:22:19 1 through their dedication to working with society's most
10:22:21 2 vulnerable children and families, and in circumstances
10:22:25 3 that involve daily exposure to upsetting situations and
10:22:29 4 overwhelming crises. I salute that with sincere
10:22:34 5 admiration.
10:22:35 6 The voice of our students provide the most
10:22:37 7 compelling evidence of Pennsylvania's wise investment
10:22:41 8 in child welfare education. You will be hearing from
10:22:44 9 one of our MSW graduates of the CWEL program this
10:22:47 10 morning, who will share her personal story of
10:22:50 11 dedication to our Child Welfare System.
10:22:53 12 In closing, I want to share the words of
10:22:55 13 the newly admitted CWEB participant, who will be
10:22:59 14 entering her senior year at Temple University this
10:23:03 15 fall. I spoke to her last week and let her know about
10:23:05 16 my testimony to you today. She gave me permission to
10:23:09 17 share these excerpts from her application.
10:23:12 18 Since I begin college, I have been
10:23:15 19 striving to prepare myself for a career in social work
10:23:19 20 and child welfare. I found out about CWEB in my
10:23:23 21 freshman year in college, and have been working to meet
22 the qualifications and to become an exceptional
10:23:27 23 candidate for the program. The turning point and most
10:23:33 24 special moment in my life was when my family adopted an
10:23:37 25 eight-day-old baby. He is now my 9-year-old brother. 19
10:23:42 1 His story of his biological mother leaving him in the
10:23:43 2 hospital defenseless, lonely and unprotected is what
10:23:48 3 really ignited something in me that changed my whole
10:23:52 4 perspective on life. Life become bigger than me, and
10:23:55 5 more so about having a positive impact on someone
10:23:59 6 else's life. As I developed an unconditional love for
10:24:01 7 my new brother, I discovered it was my purpose in life
10:24:03 8 to be a spokesperson for foster children. I realized I
10:24:07 9 wanted to work with foster children to improve their
10:24:11 10 circumstances and qualify of life.
10:24:13 11 I have a strong desire to become a social
10:24:16 12 worker, since I will be the first point of contact for
10:24:19 13 families whose cases are brought for investigation, my
10:24:22 14 position is very important because I will set the mood
10:24:26 15 and tone of how families will be treated and whether
10:24:28 16 they feel supported.
10:24:30 17 Thank you again for this opportunity to
10:24:32 18 provide testimony. I welcome your questions. And
10:24:36 19 thank you for your investment in child welfare
10:24:40 20 workforce development.
10:24:45 21 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you, Professor. I
10:24:47 22 would say Dr. Cahalane. I mispronounced your name to
10:24:48 23 begin with, I do apologize. And particularly with that
10:24:53 24 ending, I think is very, very moving. Listening, I
10:24:56 25 kept nodding. And paying attention to your testimony, 20
10:25:01 1 I was particularly struck by some of the things you
10:25:04 2 said. I think then, that the Committee is on target,
10:25:06 3 in that many of the things that we want, and we see and
10:25:09 4 the importance of education and the recognition that
10:25:13 5 certainly caseworkers, first line of defense. And to
10:25:17 6 be a caseworker today in the 21st century is probably
10:25:21 7 very --- it is somewhat different than it was to be in
10:25:26 8 the last half of the 20th century. And we need to have
10:25:29 9 folks really prepared.
10:25:31 10 And I also would like to suggest, and I
10:25:33 11 think you do and certainly the young woman who allowed
10:25:37 12 you to quote her, that indeed it takes a special
10:25:41 13 individual. Much like we say in teaching, there are
10:25:45 14 those who really are born to teach and they have that
10:25:47 15 gift. I would like to think that there are those who
10:25:49 16 are born to help families. And as much as you have the
10:25:53 17 nonprofessionals, like myself, would wish to do so, I
10:25:57 18 don't think --- we're not equipped at this point. We
10:26:02 19 need that extra --- the training, the education, the
10:26:04 20 ongoing working and networking with people like us, to
10:26:10 21 keep us in the field, to keep us going and to make
10:26:12 22 things better.
10:26:13 23 As she said, I think it's terribly,
10:26:14 24 terribly important, that indeed that caseworker sets
10:26:17 25 the mood and tone for how families will be treated and 21
10:26:22 1 whether they feel supported. So from the very
10:26:24 2 beginning that becomes a great issue, an important
10:26:27 3 issue. Members, you have questions? All right. Who
10:26:32 4 would like to go first?
5 REPRESENTATIVE ROTHMAN: Thank you, Madam
10:26:41 6 Chairman. Just briefly. You had said, it appears that
10:26:42 7 the higher level of education for the caseworkers means
10:26:47 8 there's basically a less --- less turnover rate. Do
10:26:51 9 you have an explanation as to why that is? Is it just
10:26:54 10 because those people are drown to the field, so they
10:26:56 11 have, you know, less chance of quitting? You know, one
10:26:58 12 of the biggest problems we have is the turnover rate.
10:27:02 13 So I wondered if you could maybe explain that a little
14 bit further.
10:27:07 15 DR. CAHALANE: I think that what it speaks
10:27:09 16 to is the investment that we make in the professional
10:27:09 17 development and education of our workforce. That our
10:27:12 18 workforce comes into this field with wanting to help
10:27:18 19 families and wanting to do the best for children. And
10:27:21 20 they desperately need our support, our encouragement.
10:27:24 21 They need our respect. And they also need to be
10:27:28 22 acknowledged as the professionals they are. Education
10:27:30 23 is one way that we do that. But it's only one way that
10:27:32 24 we do that.
10:27:40 25 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Thank you, Madam 22
1 Chair. It would help if I turned it on. Thank you,
10:27:43 2 Madam Chair. And thank you. I appreciate your
10:27:44 3 testimony. Just a couple of quick questions. Is a
10:27:49 4 degree mandatory statewide to become an entry-level
5 social worker or do we have a county ---?
10:27:56 6 DR. CAHALANE: Yes.
7 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: It is?
8 DR. CAHALANE: Yes.
9 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: That's in every
10 county in Pennsylvania?
11 DR. CAHALANE: Yes.
10:27:59 12 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: So one would tend to
10:28:02 13 think, that if you're going to take the time to four
10:28:03 14 years in college to be trained to be a social worker,
10:28:07 15 you already have your sights set that that's what
10:28:10 16 you're going to do the rest of your life. Let's just
10:28:14 17 --- curiosity, average across Pennsylvania. What's
10:28:17 18 entry-level salary for a social worker? Any idea?
10:28:21 19 DR. CAHALANE: It varies tremendously,
10:28:22 20 because we are a county-administered system. So I can
10:28:24 21 tell you that there are some counties in Pennsylvania,
10:28:28 22 where the entry salary almost qualifies you for public
10:28:33 23 assistance, that we have some very, very underpaid
10:28:36 24 caseworkers working diligently in child welfare. So
10:28:42 25 salary is a huge issue for the child welfare workforce. 23
10:28:44 1 And one that we desperately need to address.
10:28:48 2 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: That explains the
3 turnover?
4 DR. CAHALANE: That explains a piece of
10:28:52 5 turnover. Salary is just one aspect. It's support for
10:28:56 6 the work that you do. It's the encouragement and the
10:29:00 7 supervision that you get on the front lines. It's the
10:29:01 8 ability to use your skills in a way that's fulfilling
10:29:05 9 and promising. It's the ability to actually change a
10:29:09 10 child and family's life. Those are the things that
11 keep people invested in this work.
10:29:14 12 But it's difficult work. It can be
10:29:16 13 overwhelming. Our workers are exposed to tremendous
10:29:20 14 crises and adversary. They need our support. They
10:29:25 15 need our encouragement. And they need the backing of
10:29:26 16 everyone to help them carry out this very difficult
10:29:30 17 work.
10:29:34 18 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: And just one more
10:29:36 19 quick question. I know we need to move on, Madam
10:29:36 20 Chair. You talked about the CWEB. I missed this part.
10:29:40 21 Who is it that's paying for the education when they go
10:29:43 22 through the program?
10:29:46 23 DR. CAHALANE: The State of Pennsylvania,
10:29:47 24 the federal government, and the counties and the
25 university. All of those ---. 24
10:29:53 1 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: A combined ---
2 DR. CAHALANE: Absolutely.
10:29:55 3 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: --- group of people
4 that pay to put ---
10:29:57 5 DR. CAHALANE: Yes.
6 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: --- the social
7 workers into the program?
10:29:57 8 DR. CAHALANE: Yes. And CWEB's are
10:29:58 9 undergraduates.
10:30:00 10 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Okay. Thank you
10:30:02 11 very much. Appreciate it. Thank you, Madam Chair.
10:30:02 12 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Representative
10:30:04 13 McClinton, you have a question?
10:30:10 14 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Good morning.
10:30:10 15 My question was similar, wondering about ---. In
10:30:11 16 addition to financial aid that you mentioned, is there
10:30:13 17 also loan forgiveness available for social workers who
10:30:17 18 are entering?
10:30:18 19 DR. CAHALANE: There is loan forgiveness
10:30:21 20 legislation that allows the forgiveness of loans, after
10:30:23 21 someone has worked in the field for a number of years.
10:30:25 22 The real asset of these educational programs that I
10:30:29 23 speak of today, is that we are covering tuition. We
10:30:35 24 are providing a stipend for undergraduate students.
10:30:38 25 And for full-time graduate students, we are also 25
10:30:43 1 contributing to their salary to enable them to continue
10:30:44 2 to be able to live while they go to school.
10:30:52 3 CHAIRMAN WATSON: If I might ask one
10:30:56 4 question, based on Representative Moul's question. He
10:30:57 5 begin by asking, is it true that in all of our ---
10:31:01 6 since we are Children & Youth county-based, is it true
10:31:05 7 that they --- an employee caseworker would have a
10:31:10 8 college degree?
9 DR. CAHALANE: Yes.
10:31:10 10 CHAIRMAN WATSON: You said yes? But am I
10:31:13 11 correct, it is not necessarily a social work degree and
10:31:16 12 it could be in anything?
10:31:19 13 DR. CAHALANE: It's not necessarily a
10:31:20 14 social work degree. And through our Civil Service
10:31:25 15 System, you have equivalencies, so that if an
10:31:25 16 individual has taken so many credits of coursework in
10:31:30 17 the social sciences, that enables them to then be able
10:31:32 18 to move into the field as a caseworker.
10:31:35 19 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Okay. But I'm guessing
10:31:37 20 from the programs that you support and involve in,
10:31:42 21 you're suggesting that to be --- and I don't want to
10:31:45 22 put words in your mouth. I watched enough TV to know
10:31:48 23 that's what those lawyers do. But very seriously, it
10:31:54 24 would seem to me that it would be better for me if I'm
10:31:57 25 a caseworker, that my degree is in social work, the 26
10:32:01 1 social sciences to be better prepared for what I'm
10:32:06 2 going to encounter on the job?
10:32:10 3 DR. CAHALANE: Absolutely. Absolutely.
4 And in fact, social work is the host profession of
5 child welfare from its origins. And all the evidence
10:32:12 6 suggests that a social work degree is the best
10:32:24 7 preparation to do the work of public child welfare and
10:32:24 8 private child welfare as well.
10:32:25 9 CHAIRMAN WATSON: And may I ask one last
10:32:28 10 question, ---
11 DR. CAHALANE: Sure.
10:32:28 12 CHAIRMAN WATSON: --- that I observed?
10:32:28 13 And that would be, you mention in your testimony about
10:32:32 14 media and media coverage and that --- and I have read
10:32:36 15 articles where caseworkers --- we had that in our last
10:32:40 16 testimony, that they feel that there isn't respect for
10:32:44 17 what they do and they are, let's say, mischaracterized
10:32:49 18 as people who somehow just come in, in the mid of the
10:32:53 19 night and take children out of the home, a loving and a
10:32:57 20 good home, and they somehow take them. Certainly, we
10:33:01 21 know that not to be true. But is there anything that
10:33:03 22 you would like to offer as a way to counteract that or
10:33:08 23 things that are begin done in any way? Because I
10:33:10 24 recognize that it's very hard to keep doing a good job
10:33:15 25 in what you feel is something of a hostile climate. 27
10:33:18 1 DR. CAHALANE: Absolutely. And in fact,
10:33:19 2 we are working with our National Association of Social
10:33:25 3 Workers to move forward, a positive media campaign.
10:33:25 4 Because what is so difficult, is that you don't hear
10:33:28 5 about all the wonderful stories in the media. You
10:33:32 6 don't hear about all the lives that were saved and the
10:33:36 7 families that we're able to get back on their feet and
10:33:38 8 the success stories. Those stories don't come to the
10:33:41 9 media the way that an adverse story does. And
10:33:46 10 caseworkers are never able to speak to the details of
10:33:50 11 the case. So whether those facts are correct,
10:33:51 12 partially correct or absolutely wrong, you never hear
10:33:53 13 their voice. And you don't hear their voices about all
10:33:58 14 the wonderful work that they do every day.
10:33:59 15 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you. And I
10:34:03 16 believe Chairman Conklin, you have a question?
17 CHAIRMAN CONKIN: Just one quick question,
10:34:05 18 Doctor. When you talk about degrees necessary, as
10:34:09 19 someone that had to oversee the county portion of this
20 we're both well aware, that the contracts that go out
10:34:18 21 for clubhouses, the daycare, the individual mentoring
10:34:21 22 programs, none of that is needed for those individuals
10:34:25 23 who mentor these individuals, such as when they go to
10:34:26 24 the clubhouse, they take them out, they do counsel
10:34:27 25 work. 28
1 DR. CAHALANE: Uh-huh (yes).
10:34:28 2 CHAIRMAN CONKIN: Do you feel that those
10:34:30 3 individuals should have some type of education to
10:34:34 4 understand the needs of the clients they're working
10:34:37 5 with?
10:34:41 6 DR. CAHALANE: Absolutely. I think that
10:34:41 7 anyone who embarks on this kind of work needs training
10:34:45 8 and education specific to the duties that they carry
10:34:50 9 out. We do have programs, for example, family
10:34:50 10 development credentialing, that works to provide that
10:34:54 11 systemic perspective for front line staff who may not
10:34:57 12 have formal degrees. So there are other ways that we
10:35:00 13 can make sure that our workforce is prepared and
14 supported.
10:35:04 15 CHAIRMAN CONKIN: Thank you.
10:35:04 16 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you. And I
10:35:06 17 believe Representative Moul, you have a follow-up.
18 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: I'm sorry. I
10:35:13 19 promise, I'll try to be brief. But you touched on
10:35:16 20 something that raised a question. You mentioned the
10:35:17 21 word Civil Service.
10:35:19 22 DR. CAHALANE: Yes.
10:35:22 23 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: How does it play
10:35:23 24 into the hiring of your caseworkers?
10:35:25 25 DR. CAHALANE: The Civil Service System is 29
10:35:28 1 the hiring entity for the state, so that individuals
10:35:30 2 have to come in through the Civil Service System, meet
10:35:34 3 certain criteria, certain classifications. Yeah. So
10:35:37 4 that is one of the, I think, frustrations in many ways
10:35:41 5 for hiring.
10:35:44 6 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Would you view it as
10:35:45 7 a huge hindrance on those that are doing the hiring?
10:35:49 8 DR. CAHALANE: Yes.
10:35:53 9 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: So we need to work
10:35:55 10 toward you being able --- or administrators being able
10:35:56 11 to make the best choice, not do Civil Service that is
10:35:59 12 next in line?
10:36:01 13 DR. CAHALANE: Absolutely.
10:36:04 14 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Okay. Thank you.
10:36:04 15 That's the point I wanted to make. Thanks.
10:36:07 16 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you very much.
10:36:08 17 And thank you for your testimony, and your fine answers
10:36:11 18 during our question and answer period.
10:36:12 19 Now, we're going to hear from a graduate
10:36:15 20 of the University of Pittsburgh, and I got this right,
10:36:18 21 too, Dr. Cahalane, CWEB and CWEL, instead of me just
22 doing four initials, program. Tasha Hannah is an
10:36:28 23 Intake Supervisor with the Philadelphia Department of
10:36:32 24 Human Services. I'm going to let you explain to all
10:36:34 25 those things after your name, all those letters and 30
10:36:36 1 what that means, because that's a lot of hard work.
10:36:39 2 Thank you, Ms. Hannah, for traveling from Philadelphia
3 to lend your perspective to the hearing today. And
10:36:45 4 certainly, please begin when you are ready.
10:36:48 5 MS. HANNAH: Thank you so much. Good
10:36:49 6 morning, Chairwoman Watson, Chairman Conklin and
10:36:55 7 Committee Members and Staff. My name is Tasha Hannah,
10:36:57 8 and I am an Intake Supervisor at the Philadelphia
10:36:59 9 Department of Human Services. I began my 20-year
10:37:06 10 tenure at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services
10:37:06 11 in 1996, as a Clark Typist. I was solely responsibile
10:37:12 12 for typing the social work case notes into the
10:37:13 13 computer. In this position, this is where I learned
10:37:16 14 about the service that the Department provided to
10:37:20 15 children and families. It was in this position, that I
10:37:23 16 was exposed to child abuse and the trauma that the
10:37:26 17 children endured. This captivated me because I had no
10:37:31 18 previous knowledge of the Child Welfare System and how
10:37:34 19 it impacted and improved the quality of life for less
10:37:39 20 fortunate families.
10:37:40 21 I decided that I wanted to make a
10:37:42 22 difference. At that time, I was working on an
10:37:44 23 Associate's degree in paralegal studies. I had
10:37:48 24 aspirations to become an attorney. However, my desires
10:37:51 25 to be a part of a system that is less punitive and more 31
10:37:54 1 rehabilitative became stronger with each case note that
10:38:00 2 I read. I began to interview the social workers, to
10:38:01 3 try to gain an understanding of the barriers as well as
10:38:04 4 the rewards that they experienced with working with
10:38:08 5 these families. This is where it all came together,
10:38:11 6 that I wanted to be a part of that system that
10:38:14 7 prevents, intervenes and resolves child abuse.
10:38:17 8 So in 2006, I became a social work
10:38:20 9 trainee. I charted the course job training, where I
10:38:23 10 was taught what to expect in the field of child welfare
10:38:28 11 and the policies that govern the work that we do. As a
10:38:31 12 social worker, I had to take on many roles to deliver
10:38:34 13 the best service to families, teacher, advocate,
10:38:38 14 arbitrator and listener. These roles enabled me to
10:38:41 15 help some clients reach their goal of independence from
10:38:46 16 the child welfare system.
10:38:47 17 I have been forced many times to face and
10:38:48 18 re-evaluate my own prejudices and preconceived notions.
10:38:53 19 I had to understand that distinct cultural behaviors in
10:38:58 20 the inner city have not only been shaped by race and
10:39:01 21 poverty, but it also shapes the response to poverty,
10:39:05 22 which may contribute to its perpetuation. I do not
10:39:08 23 believe that parents are inherently bad or any parent
10:39:10 24 desires to harm or neglect their children. However,
10:39:15 25 there are structural oppressions that have generated 32
10:39:16 1 certain behaviors to manifest.
10:39:19 2 I often leaned on my supervisor for
10:39:23 3 guidance with interacting with families, maneuvering
10:39:25 4 through barriers that impeded our work, as well as
10:39:30 5 learning how to be in tune with myself. My supervisor
10:39:33 6 was a sounding board for me. I felt comfortable
10:39:35 7 discussing my weaknesses in relation to my social work
10:39:39 8 practice. His training and directives and guidance are
10:39:44 9 what made me aspire to become a supervisor.
10:39:47 10 I often pondered ways to seek my Master's
10:39:50 11 of Social Work degree, so that I could become more
10:39:52 12 proficient in my career. I desired to mirror those
10:39:57 13 qualities of my supervisor, to foster my passion for
10:40:01 14 social change and ultimately bestow my knowledge and
10:40:05 15 support to other social workers through a supervisory
16 role.
10:40:08 17 I learned about the Child Welfare
10:40:12 18 Education for Leadership Program, CWEL. And I knew I
10:40:15 19 had to be apart of this program. The program offered
10:40:17 20 me a way to reach my goal of obtaining my MSW degree
10:40:22 21 without the financial stressors. Through the CWEL
10:40:25 22 program, I attended the University of Pennsylvania,
10:40:27 23 School of Policy and Practice, where I developed
10:40:31 24 greater clarity about theoretical perspective, clinical
10:40:34 25 skills. And I had the distinct privilege of being 33
10:40:37 1 recognized for my work within a Character Enrichment
10:40:42 2 Program called the Girls Track. In this role, I serve
10:40:46 3 and continue to serve as a life coach and at --- for at
10:40:50 4 risk teenage girls, to help them embrace their unique
10:40:54 5 characteristics, pursue their highest level of
10:40:57 6 education and become positive and productive members of
10:41:00 7 society. As a Girls Track life coach, I am able to
10:41:06 8 reconnect with my community roots of West Philadelphia.
10:41:06 9 I found it extremely disturbing to know that West
10:41:10 10 Philadelphia is the home of the countries first zoo,
10:41:13 11 and yet many of the neighborhood children were too
10:41:17 12 impoverished to visit such a historic and pleasurable
13 place.
10:41:22 14 I ensure that as the members of Girls
15 Track, we experience and are exposed to a variant of
10:41:26 16 opportunities they may not otherwise have. I have the
10:41:30 17 ability through the funding from the Department of
10:41:32 18 Human Services to take these girls on college tours,
10:41:36 19 participate in community outreach projects, volunteer
10:41:40 20 with the elderly and of course visit the zoo. Just to
21 name a few of our many activities.
22 I would not be a part of such a
10:41:47 23 life-affirming role, if it were not for CWEL. The CWEL
10:41:51 24 program allowed me to broaden and deepen my skills, and
10:41:56 25 knowledge-base as it relates to building effective 34
10:41:58 1 outcomes for families. I received prompt and thorough
10:42:02 2 attention from the CWEL staff throughout my academic
10:42:06 3 journey, as was --- and was always treated with
10:42:08 4 patience and support. I am certain that without the
10:42:12 5 CWEL program, I would not be standing before you today
10:42:17 6 with my MSW degree as a licensed social worker, a life
10:42:21 7 coach to teenage girls and a Philadelphia Department of
10:42:26 8 Human Services Social Work Supervisor. I have been
10:42:28 9 able to broaden my professional development, enhance my
10:42:32 10 skills and strengthen the commitment that I have for my
10:42:34 11 community and these children and their families, as a
10:42:40 12 result of the investment that was made in me.
10:42:42 13 I believe it is my obligation to pay this
10:42:44 14 investment forward by being the best mentor and
10:42:48 15 supervisor I can be. As a social work supervisor in
10:42:52 16 the Intake Unit of the Philadelphia Department of Human
10:42:56 17 Services, I am charged with assessing the needs of and
10:42:58 18 improving the culture of the Agency. I am responsibile
10:43:02 19 for the workers that are deployed to deliver services
10:43:06 20 to the families of Philadelphia. I am responsibile
10:43:10 21 for the transference of knowledge, skills,
10:43:11 22 evidence-based practice and motivation that has brought
10:43:15 23 me to where I am today.
10:43:18 24 I have the obligation to ensure that new
10:43:22 25 workers are equipped with evolving understanding of 35
10:43:24 1 best case practice to strengthen families. I believe
10:43:30 2 in the family system, family roots, family development
10:43:32 3 and family support. I believe that everyone wants to
10:43:38 4 love and be loved. And it is through this belief, that
10:43:41 5 I continue to use my ability as a social change agent
10:43:45 6 to strengthen those families that are marginalized and
10:43:50 7 have limited access to resources.
10:43:52 8 Child welfare is challenging, it's
10:43:54 9 fulfilling, sometimes heart-wrenching and always
10:43:59 10 demanding. I support my staff in meeting these
10:44:04 11 challenges every day. And have the deepest respect for
10:44:08 12 their dedication to children and families. I also
10:44:11 13 believe that families want the best for their children,
10:44:15 14 and that it is all of our responsibility to ensure that
10:44:17 15 families receive the support that they need to keep
10:44:20 16 their children safe, protected and nurtured.
10:44:25 17 In conclusion, it would be remiss of me
10:44:29 18 not to pass on the invaluable opportunities that I was
10:44:32 19 afforded through CWEL. Social work for me is not just
10:44:35 20 a profession, but a vocation. It's a labor of love,
10:44:41 21 because we are important, the work that we do is
10:44:43 22 important and the families that we receive are
10:44:46 23 important. Thank you.
10:44:50 24 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you very much.
10:44:52 25 Questions? Representative Kim? 36
10:45:03 1 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: Ms. Hannah, thank you
10:45:05 2 so much for sharing your story and --- you know, very
10:45:07 3 inspiring. And I want to thank you for the work that
4 you do on a daily basis.
5 MS. HANNAH: Thank you.
10:45:13 6 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: My question would be,
10:45:14 7 when it comes to graduate work, what's the biggest
10:45:18 8 difference in terms of undergraduate to ---? I
10:45:21 9 understand undergraduate work is, you know, basic about
10:45:24 10 sociology perhaps and whatnot. But when you go to the
10:45:27 11 graduate level, what's the big difference? Are you
10:45:30 12 just going deeper or ---? I just want to understand
10:45:32 13 the major difference.
10:45:35 14 MS. HANNAH: Yes, for my experience the
10:45:37 15 graduate level, it does take it a notch further. It
10:45:41 16 definitely teaches you, number one, how to be a leader.
10:45:44 17 You have your practice classes where you're actually
10:45:47 18 learning theoretical perspective and putting a title to
10:45:51 19 the work that we see. So I feel as though --- that
10:45:55 20 those courses are advanced in their theoretical
10:45:57 21 perspective, as well as enhancing the clinical skills
10:45:58 22 to move on to become a therapist and to engage families
10:46:05 23 as well as engage in the workforce, your colleagues and
10:46:07 24 the workforce.
10:46:11 25 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: I wanted to ask this 37
10:46:13 1 question to the previous speaker as well. But I had
10:46:13 2 the opportunity to shadow a caseworker, actually on
10:46:15 3 Friday. And was exposed to a home that had some
10:46:20 4 serious issues. And it took me like two days to stop
10:46:24 5 thinking about it. All weekend, I was just --- it was
10:46:25 6 just on my mind about how serious the situation was.
10:46:28 7 The caseworker was amazing. She was a young lady. But
10:46:32 8 she was very assertive and brought out the different
10:46:35 9 issues. I mean, I would have not reacted as well as
10:46:37 10 the family. I mean, you had to go into every house to
10:46:39 11 take pictures of every room and every closet. It was
10:46:41 12 very intrusive. And I don't think I would have handled
10:46:46 13 it that well as the family. But they did great.
10:46:49 14 What have you seen ---? So I'm talking
10:46:51 15 about the burnout rate. I'm sure it's very high.
10:46:54 16 Again, I couldn't stop thinking about this family for
10:46:57 17 two days. In your department, any best practices in
10:47:00 18 terms of just keeping the caseworkers at a level where,
10:47:02 19 you know, they're not overwhelmed or wanting just to
10:47:06 20 quit because it's just so heavy --- the issues are so
10:47:07 21 heavy?
10:47:11 22 MS. HANNAH: Right. And that's why it's
23 very important as a supervisor to be supportive and to
10:47:12 24 be in tune with your workers, allowing them to come in.
10:47:14 25 You're giving that motivation. You're giving that 38
10:47:16 1 guidance. You're allowing them to explain their
10:47:18 2 feelings and to be able to get most of that anxiety out
10:47:22 3 before they are actually dealing with the family. You
10:47:26 4 tune in and make sure that you're giving the best
10:47:29 5 possible advice that you can, to how to deal with
10:47:32 6 certain situations.
10:47:33 7 Self-care is something that we take very
10:47:35 8 seriously at our job. And if there is a moment where
10:47:38 9 you actually need to step back, regroup, refocus on
10:47:42 10 something else, that's the only way that you will not
10:47:46 11 get burnt out in this profession. We do see on a daily
10:47:47 12 basis, very horrible things, very horrific things that
10:47:51 13 happen to children. But we need the soldiers that are
10:47:53 14 out there, to protect these children. So we have to be
10:47:56 15 supportive in our role as supervisor. We have to get
10:47:59 16 out there and know exactly what our caseworkers are
10:48:01 17 going through.
10:48:02 18 Because I have actually been out in the
10:48:04 19 trenches, I know exactly what it means to be out in the
10:48:07 20 field. And I can recognize certain cues even though
10:48:09 21 --- through body language without things being vocal
10:48:12 22 and verbally expressed. But being in tune with your
10:48:15 23 workers and knowing what's going on, you're doing those
10:48:18 24 cases with them, you're role-playing with them. You're
10:48:20 25 giving them ---. And I also sometimes go out in the 39
10:48:23 1 field with my workers. If there's a placement, if we
10:48:26 2 need to get an Order of Protection of Custody, I'm
10:48:29 3 right there with them so that they know they have that
10:48:30 4 support. And we lean on each other. It's a family.
10:48:36 5 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: Again, the woman who
10:48:37 6 I went with was very young. I'm in Harrisburg City.
10:48:43 7 Any concerns of safety for caseworkers in terms of
10:48:45 8 going to a house that's risky? I mean, people who are
10:48:49 9 using PCP, you have no idea how they're going to react.
10:48:52 10 You're going to let me come to your house and take
10:48:53 11 pictures. Any tag teaming or how do you help protect
10:48:59 12 your caseworkers in the risky houses?
10:49:02 13 MS. HANNAH: Well, there's always a risk.
10:49:02 14 We are the only profession that walk into these homes
10:49:04 15 and neighborhoods without a badge and a gun. And we
10:49:08 16 knock on doors and we enter these families homes. It's
10:49:10 17 the tact. It's about knowing how to engage families.
10:49:15 18 And not always do we have the staff that we could
10:49:19 19 actually double up. However, that's the onus of the
10:49:22 20 supervisor in reading over the case, reading over the
10:49:24 21 history to try to figure out some cues if there are
10:49:27 22 some things that you can possibly know about the family
10:49:30 23 before you send the worker out. And then sometimes,
10:49:32 24 like I stated, I will go out with the worker or if I
10:49:36 25 have another worker from another unit that is able to 40
10:49:40 1 accompany workers out in the field.
10:49:41 2 But unfortunately, we don't always have
10:49:44 3 the opportunity to send two people out. So that's
10:49:46 4 where, again, it comes into respecting families.
10:49:48 5 Regardless of that person that's on PCP. Yes, safety
10:49:53 6 is first. You remove yourself from the home. We have
10:49:54 7 the assistance of Philadelphia Police Departments which
10:49:57 8 are very, very helpful when needed. However, we do not
10:50:01 9 walk up and show up at your front door with the police.
10:50:04 10 That sends a bad message. So we definitely try to
10:50:06 11 engage in speaking with the families about the
10:50:09 12 allegation, because that's what they are allegations,
10:50:12 13 until we do our investigation.
10:50:15 14 But yes, we always worry about our safety,
10:50:17 15 but being smart, having that education, having that
10:50:20 16 training of how to become --- how to make yourself
10:50:24 17 safe, aware of your surroundings, not being
10:50:26 18 confrontational, not being authoritative. Those things
10:50:30 19 definitely are skills to have in the field.
10:50:33 20 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: Well, in closing I
10:50:34 21 just have a greater respect for caseworkers because of
10:50:36 22 my experience. And I appreciate all of the caseworkers
10:50:38 23 and what they do, it's very important. Thank you.
24 MS. HANNAH: Thank you.
10:50:42 25 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Representative 41
1 McClinton?
10:50:47 2 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Thank you,
10:50:48 3 Chairman. Thank you for coming, Ms. Hannah.
4 MS. HANNAH: Thank you.
10:50:50 5 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Hearing about
10:50:50 6 your journey, both professional and educationally is
10:50:53 7 just incredible.
10:50:55 8 MS. HANNAH: Thank you so much.
9 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Thank you for
10:50:58 10 coming. I am actually from Philly. So I'm curious to
10:51:00 11 know about this Girls Track Life Program and how young
10:51:04 12 ladies are referred, if it's through the court or if
10:51:06 13 it's through certain CUAs or certain sections of the
10:51:09 14 city? Because I may have some neighbors who would be
10:51:13 15 interested. I know it's not something you sign up
10:51:15 16 through --- obviously, it has to have some dependency
17 issues.
18 MS. HANNAH: (Indicates no).
10:51:19 19 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Or maybe not, I
10:51:20 20 see you shaking your head.
10:51:23 21 MS. HANNAH: No, it doesn't. We accept
10:51:24 22 girls from all over the Philadelphia area. You do not
10:51:26 23 have to be involved with DHS. So we can get a referral
10:51:30 24 from our Community Outreach Programs, from the CUAs.
10:51:32 25 It could be a church member. As DHS social workers, we 42
10:51:37 1 know families that can actually benefit from the Girls
2 Track Program.
10:51:42 3 It's for our at-risk teenage girls. And
10:51:44 4 when we say at risk, all teenagers at this point, and
10:51:46 5 day and age with social media are at risk; right? So
10:51:50 6 they are from the age of 13 to 18. And we have two
10:51:55 7 groups. We've expanded. We started it 13 years ago.
10:51:59 8 And the program was actually began by two social work
10:52:03 9 men. They identified certain things that the young
10:52:07 10 teenagers were --- teenage girls were facing. And they
10:52:11 11 wanted to make a difference. So the program has been
10:52:12 12 around now, for about 14, 15 years.
10:52:16 13 And the referral process is very simple.
10:52:20 14 We have our website. You can go on the Department of
10:52:25 15 Human Services website. We also have about, at this
10:52:29 16 point, maybe 60 young ladies that are actually a part
10:52:33 17 of the program. And like I stated, we expanded the
10:52:37 18 program so we can encompass more young ladies. We had
10:52:37 19 a very long waiting list. The court systems are
10:52:42 20 familiar --- Family Court is familiar with the Girls
10:52:45 21 Track Programs, so we get referrals through there. But
10:52:47 22 they do not have to have dependency issues at all.
10:52:50 23 And as I mentioned in my testimony, we do
10:52:52 24 have training for the young ladies, life skills, how to
10:52:56 25 prepare your bank accounts, how to maintain your 43
10:53:00 1 finances, college tours, things that they probably
10:53:03 2 wouldn't be able to do due to, you know, financial
10:53:06 3 constraints with the families. And we do fun things
10:53:08 4 with them as well. It's not just all about the serious
10:53:12 5 education part of how to main their integrity and
10:53:16 6 maintaining their school grades. But also like I said,
10:53:19 7 taking them to the zoo and taking them out on camping
10:53:21 8 trips, taking them out on retreats. And just having
10:53:23 9 that camaraderie, you know, around each other, engaging
10:53:26 10 the other teenagers so that they know how to interact
10:53:29 11 with one another without being confrontational or
10:53:32 12 volatile. It's an excellent program.
10:53:35 13 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Thank you.
14 MS. HANNAH: You're welcome.
10:53:36 15 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Thank you,
10:53:37 16 Chairman.
10:53:37 17 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Representative Moul,
18 questions?
10:53:42 19 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Thank you, Madam
10:53:43 20 Chair. And thank you for what you do.
10:53:47 21 MS. HANNAH: Oh, thank you.
10:53:49 22 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: It certainly is a
10:53:51 23 noble profession that you have chosen. Average
10:53:54 24 caseworker, how many cases/families do they take on at
10:54:01 25 a time? 44
1 MS. HANNAH: Okay. So I'm speaking
10:54:03 2 regarding the Intake Department. You can have up to
10:54:06 3 25 cases, 25 families, different families.
4 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Wait a minute. A
10:54:11 5 caseworker, one caseworker is going to handle or deal
10:54:14 6 with 25 --- up to 25 families?
10:54:18 7 MS. HANNAH: So this is how Intake works.
10:54:22 8 So we're the Investigation Unit. Mandated, we get nine
10:54:23 9 reports a month. Depending on if the --- work within
10:54:26 10 those cases, you can actually get rid of cases. If you
10:54:30 11 can transfer them on to CUA or stabilize them or you
10:54:33 12 could possibly hold onto cases, depending on family's
10:54:37 13 cooperation, if you're court involved, other reports
10:54:40 14 that are coming in.
10:54:42 15 So generally --- I mean, it's not the
10:54:43 16 protocol for an intake worker to hold 25 cases, no.
10:54:47 17 But I have seen an average with the turnover rate, the
10:54:51 18 new CPSL laws and other impediments, we are holding our
10:54:56 19 cases for investigation a little bit longer.
10:55:03 20 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: When a caseworker
10:55:05 21 goes out to a home and meets up with a closed door,
10:55:06 22 thank you but no thank you, we take care of our own,
10:55:10 23 have a nice day, what do you do?
10:55:12 24 MS. HANNAH: Well, we have to be
10:55:14 25 persistent. Because the Juvenile Act does allow us to 45
10:55:15 1 gain entry into the home. So we have to explain that
10:55:18 2 we are here to investigate the allegations. We will
10:55:22 3 try. We will definitely come back, depending on the
10:55:25 4 circumstances of the report. If there's a report where
10:55:28 5 there's a child being severely abused or neglected at
10:55:31 6 that moment, then that's when we will have to, you
10:55:34 7 know, attain some more authority there to allow us
10:55:37 8 entry. But we can also compel to cooperate a petition
10:55:39 9 through the court system, to allow the family to comply
10:55:43 10 with your services. But our main goal is to gain entry
10:55:48 11 into that home, to assess the safety and wellbeing of
10:55:51 12 any child that resides in that home. So we are
13 persistent.
10:55:54 14 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: So there are times
10:55:55 15 when a police officer will be necessary?
16 MS. HANNAH: Absolutely. Absolutely.
10:56:02 17 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Now, I'm going to go
10:56:02 18 to something that's probably controversial. I'm just
10:56:07 19 asking your opinion, because you see everything that
10:56:13 20 goes on in the trenches. And this comes to education.
10:56:17 21 And a few years ago I listened to someone within the
10:56:24 22 Education Department make the statement that it's our
10:56:27 23 job to make sure every student is college ready by the
10:56:31 24 time they graduate high school. And I disagreed with
10:56:35 25 that. And because of all the testing that is going on 46
10:56:40 1 --- and I hear it from my teachers saying that they're
10:56:43 2 now teaching to test constantly. Do you think that
10:56:47 3 after being in the trenches, that our education system
10:56:51 4 is letting some of the basics as to how to be a good
10:56:57 5 person, how to be a good parent, how to you do your
10:57:00 6 bank work, how to clean house, do you think we're
10:57:05 7 letting some of that go in our K through 12 education,
10:57:10 8 in order to teach to a test and then producing students
10:57:15 9 that don't go to college, but get out in the real world
10:57:19 10 and now they don't know how to do these things? That
10:57:23 11 they don't know how to be a parent? That they don't
10:57:26 12 have the basic life skills? Are we glaring over some
10:57:29 13 of that, in your opinion? We get people out there that
14 become parents that aren't ready to become parents.
10:57:32 15 And I'm not talking about just kids that get pregnant
10:57:34 16 in high school, I'm talking kids that get out of high
10:57:37 17 school and they've been taught to take tests but they
10:57:40 18 haven't been taught how to be functionally good if they
19 aren't going onto college.
10:57:46 20 MS. HANNAH: That's a very interesting
10:57:49 21 question, and it's very complex.
22 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Strictly opinion,
23 yeah.
10:57:52 24 MS. HANNAH: Right. My opinion would be,
10:57:53 25 no, that I don't believe that we're necessarily --- 47
10:57:56 1 teachers are necessarily teaching to the test. And I'm
10:58:00 2 not sure if you can teach people to be parents or just
10:58:09 3 the life skill in class. I think that it come from the
10:58:14 4 family support, the family dynamic and just being able
10:58:20 5 to model what's been taught to you. I'm not sure if
10:58:23 6 everything --- in my opinion, I'm not sure if
10:58:24 7 everything can be taught in the classroom. So I really
10:58:27 8 don't have very much testimony about that question. I
9 just don't think ---.
10 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: No, it's just an
10:58:33 11 opinion. I'm someone that owns quite a few rental
10:58:36 12 properties. And at one point, I had 70 percent or
10:58:39 13 better, at least through the Housing Authority. And
10:58:43 14 after all these years --- and I still have a bunch. I
10:58:46 15 would see where it would be almost generational because
10:58:49 16 they weren't getting it at home, because life skills
10:58:53 17 weren't taught at home, by some of the parents that
10:58:58 18 were never taught. It's like a broken chain, once it's
10:59:04 19 broke, it's broke and, you know, it's hard to put it
10:59:05 20 back together. But I'm trying to make some sort of a
10:59:09 21 connection as, should we be doing more in our schools
10:59:11 22 to help these students so that you don't have to see
10:59:16 23 them somewhere on down the line?
10:59:18 24 MS. HANNAH: Well, of course any
10:59:18 25 assistance from a very young age on up would be 48
10:59:20 1 helpful. But I don't believe that we could put all
10:59:23 2 that on the education system as well. I mean, these
10:59:25 3 are some generational issues that have been, you know,
10:59:29 4 kind of perpetuated and things like that. So I don't
10:59:31 5 think that just putting it all on one entity or one
10:59:34 6 system is going to answer the question. We all need to
10:59:37 7 work in tandem. The Education Department ---.
8 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Yeah, I never said
9 the word all.
10:59:39 10 MS. HANNAH: I'm sorry?
10:59:42 11 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: I never said the
10:59:42 12 word all. I just thought that there might be something
10:59:45 13 that we're glancing over in order to pass tests versus
10:59:51 14 become good people, good citizens, good productive
10:59:55 15 citizens in the future. I just wanted your opinion, as
10:59:59 16 if you thought that after seeing generation after
11:00:03 17 generation of being in the trenches, maybe there's
11:00:05 18 something more or something different we can do in our
11:00:10 19 schools, as opposed to --- and I get the complaint all
11:00:10 20 the time from my teachers, we're now teaching to tests
11:00:14 21 because we're testing so much. Are we missing
11:00:17 22 something, instead of teaching a test? It was just an
11:00:19 23 opinion question.
11:00:20 24 MS. HANNAH: I appreciate the opportunity
11:00:21 25 to answer. 49
11:00:23 1 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: Thank you.
11:00:23 2 MS. HANNAH: You're welcome.
11:00:23 3 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you. And
11:00:24 4 certainly, thank you very much for your very insightful
11:00:28 5 testimony. I think particularly what comes through is
11:00:32 6 your passion for what you do. And I sat here and
11:00:35 7 thought, wow, I wish I could instill that in lots of
11:00:39 8 people to choose a career in social work and choose a
11:00:44 9 career to be a caseworker, to go on and say I can do
11:00:47 10 more. And certainly you as an Intake Supervisor, the
11:00:50 11 caseworkers who work with you, I think they're very
11:00:54 12 lucky because they have someone who understands and
11:00:57 13 someone who is interested in making them better,
11:01:00 14 herself better and most of all protecting children. So
11:01:03 15 we thank you very much.
11:01:05 16 MS. HANNAH: Thank you very much.
11:01:10 17 CHAIRMAN WATSON: And next up, I think
11:01:11 18 this is funny, I get a little script, and it says to
11:01:12 19 welcome Michael Byers. Now, Mr. Byers is the Director
11:01:17 20 of this building of the Child Welfare Resource Center.
11:01:21 21 So I don't think I'm supposed to really welcome you. I
11:01:24 22 would think you already welcomed me, and I'm supposed
11:01:28 23 to be saying, gee, thanks a lot for letting us come
11:01:30 24 here today. I'll start with that. And Mr. Byers,
25 please begin. 50
11:01:36 1 MR. BYERS: Well, you're welcome. It's a
11:01:38 2 pleasure to have all of you here today. So good
11:01:41 3 morning, Chairwoman Watson, Chairman Conklin, Committee
11:01:43 4 Members and Staff. My name is Mike Byers, and I'm the
11:01:47 5 Director of the Child Welfare Resource Center. I
11:01:50 6 appreciate the opportunity to provide an overview of
11:01:52 7 our center, and what we do to support and strengthen
11:01:55 8 Pennsylvania's workforce. I'd like to start by walking
11:01:58 9 through an infographic, it's off to my left, and it's
11:01:59 10 also in your packet that you have, the University of
11:02:04 11 Pittsburgh packet, that I think does a wonderful job of
11:02:05 12 framing why the workforce matters in Pennsylvania and
11:02:09 13 nationally in child welfare.
11:02:10 14 So if you look at the top left, it really
11:02:13 15 starts by talking about how difficult the job is. And
11:02:15 16 I think you've testified to that and spoke to that
11:02:19 17 already, from the demanding workloads to the, quite
11:02:23 18 literally, life and death decisions that are made each
11:02:26 19 and every day by child welfare professionals. It also
11:02:31 20 goes on to talk about the fiscal cost of turnover.
11:02:33 21 That number is from a Texas study that was done. But
11:02:37 22 more importantly, the cost of children and families.
11:02:40 23 We know the less caseworkers a family experiences, the
11:02:43 24 better chance of positive outcomes for that family.
11:02:47 25 The infographic concludes by identifying key workforce 51
11:02:52 1 development strategies, some of which I will describe
11:02:54 2 further as I talk about our approach to supporting the
11:02:57 3 workforce in Pennsylvania.
11:03:00 4 In 2001, the Training Program moving to
11:03:02 5 the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work to
11:03:06 6 support the growth of the program. Since that time,
11:03:09 7 the Training Program has expanded its continuum of
11:03:12 8 services to include technical assistance, transfer of
11:03:15 9 learning, project management and research and
11:03:16 10 evaluation, which eventually lead to our name changing
11:03:21 11 to the Resource Center. We provide substantive and
11:03:25 12 substantial support to many statewide initiatives,
11:03:27 13 including older youth efforts, family engagement
11:03:30 14 efforts and continuous quality improvement efforts.
11:03:35 15 Our continuum of services is designed to support and
11:03:37 16 facilitate positive change in the Pennsylvania Child
11:03:40 17 Welfare System.
11:03:43 18 I wanted to spend some time discussing our
11:03:46 19 approach to supporting the workforce. There's growing
11:03:50 20 body of research supporting the need to take a
11:03:52 21 comprehensive approach to implementing and sustaining
11:03:55 22 new initiatives, whether they're legislative, mandates
11:03:57 23 or program-driven changes. As such, it's critical that
11:04:03 24 training be viewed as part of a larger strategy to give
11:04:06 25 us our best chance of successful implementation. I'd 52
11:04:08 1 like to give an example of what that looks like in
11:04:11 2 practice.
11:04:12 3 As all of you know, several years ago in
11:04:14 4 response to the passage of 24 child welfare-related
11:04:20 5 bills, the Department of Human Services convened a
11:04:22 6 large stakeholder group to develop a comprehensive
11:04:26 7 approach to implementation. The Resource Center was a
11:04:28 8 lead player in the development and implementation of a
11:04:31 9 plan to support the child welfare workforce.
11:04:34 10 The strategy included an assessment of
11:04:36 11 Pennsylvania's counties readiness for change, nine
11:04:40 12 online training modules, web-based tools and resources,
11:04:44 13 technical assistance and transfer of learning. Quickly
11:04:48 14 after launch, several thousand child welfare
11:04:49 15 professionals completed one or more online trainings to
11:04:54 16 support their implementation of these changes. Onsite,
11:04:56 17 in-person and often county-specific transfer learning
11:05:00 18 sessions fall within many counties across the
19 Commonwealth. These sessions built on the online
11:05:08 20 modules and allowed counties to work through local
21 implementation challenges in real time.
11:05:09 22 Finally, county-specific technical
11:05:14 23 assistance was provided as requested to facilitate
11:05:18 24 county staff through a systematic and systemic approach
11:05:22 25 to addressing organizational barriers to 53
11:05:25 1 implementation.
11:05:27 2 With this framework in mind, I'd like to
11:05:29 3 walk through the training component with a particular
11:05:30 4 focus on the certification for new caseworkers. We
11:05:34 5 currently provide training to all levels of public
11:05:35 6 child welfare staff, caseworkers, supervisors, managers
11:05:39 7 and administrators. As we speak, there are nine
11:05:43 8 trainings taking place at different locations across
11:05:44 9 the Commonwealth, including one right here that we may
11:05:47 10 visit later today.
11:05:49 11 Training is currently delivered in 14
11:05:52 12 locations. Last year we delivered almost 2,000 days of
11:05:56 13 in-person training. We provide the initial training
11:05:59 14 required for new caseworkers and supervisors in
11:06:02 15 Pennsylvania. Caseworkers are required to complete
11:06:05 16 Charting the Course towards Permanency for Children
11:06:07 17 within 18 months of hire. Currently, the average
11:06:11 18 caseworker completes their certification training in
11:06:12 19 less than four months.
11:06:14 20 In 2015, 62 rounds of Charting the Course
11:06:19 21 were delivered to over a thousand new caseworkers. For
11:06:23 22 comparison, 43 rounds were delivered in 2010 and 28
11:06:27 23 rounds were delivered in 2005. Charting the Course is
11:06:34 24 a knowledge and skill-based curriculum that is
11:06:36 25 delivered in a cohort manner. It's 126 hours, 20-day 54
11:06:39 1 series, which is organized around the goals of the
11:06:40 2 Pennsylvania child welfare system and is consistent
11:06:43 3 with Pennsylvania's Child Welfare Practice model, as
11:06:46 4 well as the outcomes of the Federal Child and Family
11:06:50 5 Services Review. Pennsylvania's initial and ongoing
11:06:53 6 training has been found to be in substantial
11:06:55 7 conformity, meaning a strength during the last two
11:06:58 8 rounds of the federal government's review of our child
9 welfare system.
11:07:01 10 In addition, Pennsylvania --- I'm sorry,
11:07:04 11 participants rated their level of understanding
11:07:08 12 significantly higher post-training than pre-training in
11:07:11 13 each of the modules. I've included several handouts in
11:07:15 14 your packet, that provide an overview of the different
11:07:20 15 modules of Charting the Course, as well as the new
11:07:21 16 training for supervisors, Supervisor Training Series.
11:07:28 17 We believe in research supports that
11:07:30 18 applying what is learned in the training room requires
11:07:31 19 the act of support of the caseworker supervisor and
11:07:36 20 organization. As such, there are transfer of learning
11:07:40 21 opportunities outlined throughout Charting the Course,
11:07:43 22 which provide the caseworker opportunities to observe,
11:07:46 23 practice and receive supportive feedback from their
11:07:49 24 supervisor within their own environment.
11:07:51 25 Another reason for this approach in 55
11:07:53 1 Pennsylvania, is that we are county-administered child
11:07:58 2 welfare state. As such, each county has the ability to
11:07:59 3 individualize their approach and structure to serve
11:08:04 4 their respective community.
11:08:04 5 One of the ways this plays out is in the
11:08:07 6 role specialization of the workforce. In some counties
11:08:11 7 caseworkers are generalists, meaning they work with
11:08:15 8 families from Intake and Investigation through in-home
11:08:17 9 services and placement. In other counties a worker may
11:08:22 10 only handle adoption cases or even a specific type of
11:08:25 11 CPS investigations. For all these reasons, the
11:08:29 12 successful onboarding of new staff is truly a
11:08:32 13 partnership between us and the counties.
11:08:35 14 As you heard in the last hearing, the
11:08:36 15 workforce is overwhelmed by the massive increase in
11:08:39 16 referrals, the child welfare information solution
11:08:44 17 implementation struggles and signature turnover. All
11:08:45 18 these factors make it incredibly difficult for
11:08:48 19 caseworkers to practice and develop new skills and for
11:08:53 20 supervisors to dedicate the time necessary to support
11:08:54 21 their new staff.
11:08:56 22 In the previous hearing, you also heard
11:09:00 23 passionate testimony about the benefits of ChildFirst
11:09:05 24 or similarly on-hands --- hands-on training. And I
11:09:06 25 couldn't agree more. As previously mentioned, 56
11:09:11 1 currently many of these hands-on opportunities are
11:09:13 2 provided through pre and post-work activities at the
11:09:16 3 county level. That said, we are in the beginning
11:09:18 4 processes of a significant reshaping of Charting the
11:09:24 5 Course for new caseworkers. Upon completion, this new
11:09:26 6 version will deliver the majority of knowledge-based
11:09:29 7 content in an online format to allow for more practice
11:09:33 8 and skill-building work in the classroom.
11:09:37 9 In addition, we've partnered with Service
11:09:41 10 Access Management, SAM, to deliver a simulation-based
11:09:44 11 training focused on a caseworker's safety in the field,
11:09:45 12 which you've also talking about earlier this morning.
11:09:49 13 In the last two and half months, we've trained over 250
11:09:53 14 caseworkers from across the Commonwealth. In these
11:09:58 15 trainings, caseworkers participate in realistic
11:10:00 16 scenarios where they can practice their assessment and
11:10:02 17 engagement skills in a safe environment. Feedback from
11:10:07 18 caseworkers, supervisors and county leadership has been
11:10:09 19 extremely positive. By September we're planning on
11:10:14 20 having trained caseworkers and supervisors from 42
11:10:16 21 counties. We're committed to advancing more
11:10:18 22 simulation-based offerings across the program.
11:10:22 23 Finally, over the last several years we've
11:10:26 24 rapidly expanded the number of online trainings that
11:10:28 25 can be available to child welfare professionals, which 57
11:10:31 1 can be taken at any point and without staff having to
11:10:35 2 leave their office. We currently have 27 trainings
11:10:38 3 online. In 2015, over 4,000 child welfare
11:10:41 4 professionals completed an average of five online
11:10:44 5 courses. In addition to the courses we offer
11:10:47 6 exclusively to child welfare professionals, we're an
11:10:51 7 approved Act 31 provider. Our free three-hour training
11:10:56 8 for mandated and permissive reporters in Pennsylvania
11:10:57 9 has been completed by over 500,000 Pennsylvanians since
11:11:02 10 its launch in November of 2014. And we also have a
11:11:06 11 data brief that I included in your packet, that
11:11:08 12 provides more descriptive information.
11:11:11 13 I thank you for the opportunity to speak
11:11:13 14 today, and welcome any questions that you might have.
11:11:19 15 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you very much.
11:11:21 16 And again, thank you for having us here. We appreciate
11:11:24 17 it. Are there questions, ladies and gentlemen?
11:11:27 18 Representative Kim?
11:11:30 19 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: Yes. Thank you,
11:11:32 20 Chairwoman. Thank you for your testimony. From your
11:11:34 21 vantage point, it doesn't have to be scientific, but
11:11:37 22 are you seeing more of a diverse group of caseworkers
11:11:41 23 in the recent years, whether it be age, race, more
11:11:45 24 males? Is there a trend that you're seeing? I'm just
11:11:49 25 curious about that. 58
1 MR. BYERS: You know, I don't have the
11:11:54 2 data right now on that. I would say, historically it's
11:11:55 3 always been a female-dominant profession for sure. But
11:11:59 4 I think it varies tremendously from county to county.
11:12:03 5 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: Now, my county was
11:12:05 6 saying that, you know, I'd like to see older folks
11:12:07 7 there just because they have more life experience to
11:12:08 8 help guide the families. But also the importance of
11:12:11 9 bilingual caseworkers, so that they can interact with
11:12:15 10 different families. I think that's also very
11:12:15 11 important. So maybe as legislatures, just helping to
11:12:19 12 attract a different group of folks, I think would be
11:12:21 13 more beneficial for our unique communities. So I
11:12:24 14 probably put you on the spot, I apologize.
15 MR. BYERS: No.
16 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: Because you have some
11:12:28 17 many people coming through, I was just wondering if you
11:12:29 18 had a take on that?
11:12:32 19 MR. BYERS: I mean, I would just further
11:12:33 20 that. So 19 years ago, I started my career as a child
11:12:37 21 welfare caseworker in Adams County, actually. And
11:12:39 22 there's probably not a week that goes by that I don't
11:12:41 23 wish I could work again with some of those families.
11:12:45 24 Because I feel like I'm in a much better position now,
11:12:48 25 than I was 20 years ago. 59
11:12:51 1 REPRESENTATIVE KIM: Thank you.
11:12:51 2 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Representative
3 McClinton?
11:13:00 4 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Representative
11:13:00 5 Kim's question sparked one in me. Thank you, Madam
11:13:02 6 Chairwoman. I'm curious to know what types of cultural
11:13:05 7 sensitivity training is hosted for those social
11:13:07 8 workers, so that if you're not a social worker in a
11:13:11 9 neighborhood where you're from in a county or a
11:13:14 10 community that you're familiar with and a neighborhood
11:13:16 11 that speaks a different language than you. How are you
11:13:21 12 able to overcome those immediate challenges to conquer
13 the underlying goal?
11:13:27 14 MR. BYERS: Yeah, that's definitely a
11:13:29 15 commitment of the Resource Center, and I think to the
11:13:30 16 counties across the state. It's definitely content
11:13:33 17 that's within Charting the Course, and in different
11:13:36 18 modules. It's also presented in the way of our second
11:13:40 19 module, which is the identification of abuse and
11:13:43 20 neglect. In talking about disproportionally and
11:13:47 21 disparity, we know that more families of color, for
11:13:50 22 example, are involved in the Child Welfare System than
11:13:53 23 other families. And we talk about that with our new
11:13:57 24 caseworkers.
25 As a Resource Center, we also have a 60
11:13:59 1 Diversity Task Force that meets throughout the year, to
11:14:03 2 make sure that our curriculum is representative of the
11:14:06 3 communities that we're serving. And they also host
11:14:09 4 events. Our next one is coming up in June, that are
11:14:13 5 open to the child welfare field.
11:14:19 6 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Representative Rothman?
11:14:28 7 REPRESENTATIVE ROTHMAN: First of all,
11:14:28 8 thank you for having us here. We appreciate your
9 hospitality.
10 MR. BYERS: You're welcome.
11 REPRESENTATIVE ROTHMAN: You talk about in
11:14:35 12 your testimony, massive referrals. Do you believe
11:14:36 13 based on your experience, there's --- there are more
11:14:40 14 cases or were you aware of more cases now than in the
11:14:44 15 last 15 years?
11:14:47 16 MR. BYERS: I think Deputy Secretary Utz
11:14:48 17 testified at the last hearing to over an 40 percent
11:14:50 18 increase in the number of --- the sheer number of
11:14:53 19 referrals coming in the front door. From what I
11:14:56 20 understand, the percentage that are substantiated is
11:14:59 21 about the same as prior to the CPSL changes. But I
11:15:03 22 haven't seen that data to know for sure.
11:15:13 23 REPRESENTATIVE ROTHMAN: So more
11:15:14 24 referrals, but less substantiated cases?
11:15:20 25 MR. BYERS: Well, i think, from what I 61
11:15:21 1 understand --- again, this is just what I understand,
11:15:21 2 that the percentage is about the same. So what that
11:15:24 3 means though, is that because we're 40 percent more ---
11:15:28 4 actually, we got 40 percent more than going through the
11:15:32 5 whole system.
11:15:39 6 REPRESENTATIVE ROTHMAN: Thank you.
11:15:39 7 CHAIRMAN WATSON: And my dear friend, who
11:15:41 8 usually sparks a question, Representative Moul?
11:15:46 9 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: I am an very
11:15:47 10 inquisitive person. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank
11:15:47 11 you, Mike, for having us here. Very quickly. Your
11:15:53 12 classes that you run here, have you noticed over the
11:15:57 13 years that you've had to gear up more toward teaching
11:16:02 14 social workers how to deal with families when there are
11:16:06 15 drugs and alcohol abuse within the family? Have you
11:16:09 16 noticed the prevalence going that direction?
11:16:13 17 MR. BYERS: I think the type of drug has
11:16:15 18 been the biggest difference. The drug and alcohol
11:16:16 19 issue has been an issue for a very long time. And it's
11:16:19 20 a big driver of folks in the system. Right now heroin
11:16:24 21 is what's taking over Pennsylvania nationally.
11:16:30 22 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: So you do have to
11:16:32 23 spend a good bit of time in training? Because as we
11:16:36 24 heard here early, there's some --- like, I guess PCP
11:16:40 25 that people can get pretty violent when they're on 62
11:16:43 1 that. And of course, that's going to bleed over to the
11:16:46 2 children. But we certainly don't want caseworkers hurt
11:16:49 3 in the process of trying to do their job, so ---.
4 MR. BYERS: Absolutely. And that's the
11:16:55 5 focus, actually, of the caseworkers' safety training,
11:16:55 6 simulation training that I was referring to earlier
11:16:58 7 where we actually have actors, where a caseworker and a
11:17:02 8 partner go into like a home-like environment and
11:17:07 9 see, it could be drug paraphernalia, it could be a
11:17:09 10 potentially violent situation. And then they have
11:17:12 11 folks there that are providing them feedback in the
11:17:14 12 moment, as to maybe what they could have done
11:17:17 13 differently to ensure their own safety as well as that
11:17:20 14 of the family that they're working with.
11:17:23 15 REPRESENTATIVE MOUL: All right. Thank
16 you.
11:17:23 17 MR. BYERS: Uh-huh (yes).
11:17:23 18 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Again, thank you very
11:17:26 19 much Mr. Byers. And next on the agenda, we'll get a
11:17:32 20 perspective --- another perspective on the issue from
11:17:34 21 the National Association of Social Workers. Tara
22 Breitsprecher, a licensed social worker is Director of
11:17:43 23 Government Affairs & Public Policy for the Pennsylvania
11:17:45 24 Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
11:17:54 25 Mr. Grasa and I met Tara last year. And 63
11:17:54 1 since then, I would hope that I can say we built a
11:17:58 2 strong working relationship with the organization, in
11:18:03 3 our efforts. Because I think how important it is to
11:18:07 4 bolster the child welfare system and to make it work
11:18:08 5 better for everyone. So Tara, it is good to see you
11:18:14 6 again. We are on a first name basis. So in
11:18:14 7 transparency, we have to say that. And we thank you
11:18:17 8 very much for coming to participate today. Please
9 begin when you are ready.
11:18:22 10 MS. BREITSPRECHER: Thank you so much for
11:18:24 11 having me today. NASW is very grateful for the
11:18:27 12 relationship that we've developed with the Committee.
11:18:29 13 So thank you again to Chairwoman Watson, chairman
11:18:32 14 Conklin, Committee Members, Mr. Grasa and other Staff
11:18:35 15 for inviting us to be here today. I'm very grateful
11:18:42 16 for the opportunity to speak some of the issues about
11:18:43 17 training and career development for child welfare
11:18:48 18 workers. As Chairwoman Watson said, my name a Tara
11:18:50 19 Breitsprecher, and I'm the Director of Government
11:18:53 20 Affairs & Public Policy for the National Association of
11:18:57 21 Social Workers, Pennsylvania Chapter.
11:18:57 22 On behalf of the estimated 50,000 degreed
11:19:01 23 social workers practicing in Pennsylvania, my
11:19:04 24 perspective comes from the workforce. The committed
11:19:08 25 individuals who encounter situations every day that 64
11:19:11 1 most people would prefer to pretend does not exist in
11:19:14 2 our communities. A few Committee Members have had
11:19:18 3 opportunities to shadow caseworkers or talk to
11:19:21 4 caseworkers within their districts, and we're very
11:19:23 5 grateful. It sounds like Representative Kim can speak
11:19:26 6 to that individually. And I hope that others of you
11:19:30 7 seek out a similar opportunity to do so.
11:19:34 8 During the April Committee hearing, the
11:19:37 9 Committee heard testimony explaining the diverse
11:19:39 10 knowledge a child welfare worker needs in order to fill
11:19:44 11 the job requirements. A few examples of what were
11:19:45 12 shared include child development, mental health, human
11:19:51 13 anatomy, family intervention, group facilitation and
14 documentation.
11:19:56 15 The effective delivery of child welfare
11:19:58 16 services is a complicated endeavor. Determining a
11:20:03 17 child's physical safety and sharing his or her
11:20:06 18 wellbeing, determining the tools necessary to
11:20:09 19 strengthen a family and doing all of this with little
11:20:12 20 ability to improve the quality of housing, education or
11:20:15 21 employment opportunities available to that child and
11:20:19 22 family is a very overwhelming challenge. Yet,
11:20:25 23 appropriately intervening in the lives of children not
11:20:25 24 only means the difference between life and death, the
11:20:25 25 success of the government's intervention also 65
11:20:29 1 profoundly impacts the quality of life of that child's
11:20:34 2 life.
11:20:34 3 I'd like to do a very quick demonstration.
11:20:38 4 So Committee Members, Staff and all in attendance
11:20:43 5 behind me, I'd like you to please raise your hand, if
11:20:45 6 at any point in your college degree you have taken four
11:20:49 7 or more of the following courses, psychology,
11:20:53 8 economics, sociology, anthropology, social work,
11:21:00 9 geography and political science. So if you've taken
11:21:04 10 four or more of the following courses. So every person
11:21:09 11 who raised their hand meets the current educational
11:21:15 12 requirements if substituted with experience for a child
11:21:19 13 welfare worker position when applying through State
11:21:22 14 Civil Service. And I'd like to ask how many of you
11:21:25 15 truly feel prepared to assess the safety and wellbeing
11:21:30 16 of a child, while considering differences in child
11:21:31 17 development, understanding mental health concerns and
11:21:35 18 respecting cultural diversity? My guess is the number
11:21:40 19 is far less than those who raised their hand this
11:21:42 20 morning.
11:21:43 21 NASW-PA has long advocated for an increase
11:21:47 22 in job requirements for Pennsylvania's child welfare
11:21:50 23 workers. Even the strongest laws and regulations based
11:21:53 24 on best practice and sound research cannot fully
11:21:56 25 protect Pennsylvania's children. People protect 66
11:22:00 1 children. Appropriately educated, trained and licensed
11:22:04 2 individuals working in ethical environments that hold
11:22:08 3 employees accountable is how we effectively protect
11:22:12 4 children. And it will come as a no surprise, that as a
11:22:15 5 professional social worker and representative of the
11:22:18 6 50,000 social workers in this Commonwealth, I strongly
11:22:21 7 believe that we need to re-evaluate the requirements to
11:22:23 8 be hired as a child welfare worker.
11:22:27 9 As the Committee learned through testimony
11:22:27 10 in the last hearing, not all counties utilized the
11:22:33 11 Civil Service exam. And some counties do require a
11:22:34 12 college degree that cannot be substituted with
11:22:37 13 experience. But even with these differences, there's
11:22:40 14 no requirement that a caseworker have a degree in a
11:22:44 15 social science field, such as social work, sociology,
11:22:47 16 human services or psychology. And that was mentioned a
11:22:51 17 bit earlier today in testimony. And while all these
18 degrees to not equally prepare you for child welfare,
11:22:59 19 they're at least all grounded in working with people.
11:23:01 20 NASW-PA would like to see the legislature
11:23:06 21 creates the minimal standard of a social service ---
11:23:08 22 social science Bachelor degree to receive state funding
11:23:12 23 to provide any reimbursable services to children and
11:23:16 24 families within the child welfare system. And this
11:23:19 25 starting as a minimum. 67
11:23:21 1 Beyond the minimum requirement of a
11:23:24 2 Bachelor degree in a social science to be hired as a
11:23:26 3 child welfare worker, we need more social workers in
11:23:31 4 the child welfare system. And while there are efforts
11:23:32 5 to encourage social workers to pursue a child welfare
11:23:35 6 position, we need to increase recruitment and
11:23:38 7 incentivized positions for social workers in the public
11:23:42 8 and private sector. When it comes to the delivery of
11:23:44 9 front-line human services, a Bachelor's degree in
11:23:48 10 social work is the program that is most specifically
11:23:53 11 tailored to effectively train individuals to perform
11:23:53 12 the work at hand. It was mentioned several times
11:23:58 13 during the last hearing that a caseworker needs the
11:24:00 14 appropriate knowledge-base as well as field experience
11:24:02 15 to truly be prepared for a child welfare position. A
11:24:08 16 Bachelor-level social worker graduates with an
11:24:09 17 educational background, as well as more than 600 hours
11:24:14 18 of supervised field experience.
11:24:18 19 In addition, individuals who hold their
11:24:20 20 Bachelor's of Social Work now have the option to pursue
11:24:22 21 a license, as a licensed Bachelor social worker. This
11:24:26 22 is a new license under the State Board of Social
11:24:30 23 Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and
11:24:32 24 Professional License --- and Professional Counselors.
11:24:34 25 And every Committee Member that was with us during 68
11:24:38 1 sessions to vote on Sensate Bill 807 of last session
11:24:41 2 --- which is now Act 179 of 2014. Everyone who was
11:24:44 3 there in session on this Committee voted in favor of
11:24:47 4 that license.
11:24:50 5 If you have your nails painted at the mall
11:24:51 6 or go to the barber for a haircut, that individual
11:24:54 7 providing the service is required to be licensed to do
11:24:56 8 so. But yet, those working with the most vulnerable
11:25:02 9 and dependent among us are not required to hold any
11:25:05 10 license. This means that child welfare workers are not
11:25:07 11 required to pass the basic competency exam, have an
11:25:12 12 appropriate educational degree or follow a Code of
11:25:15 13 Ethics. And NASW-PA understands that creating a child
11:25:19 14 welfare worker license at this point is not likely.
11:25:21 15 But we do have the option for Bachelor-level social
11:25:25 16 workers to be licensed. And this was specifically
17 created to ensure the professional, ethical and
11:25:34 18 competent practice of our front-line human service
11:25:35 19 providers. And we hope to see that this license be
11:25:39 20 utilized and incentivized to increase workforce
11:25:42 21 standards.
11:25:42 22 And lastly, I'd like to ask the
11:25:44 23 legislature and all in attendance to be cognizant of
11:25:46 24 social work title protection. Under Act 68 of 2008,
11:25:51 25 it's illegal for an individual to hold oneself out as a 69
11:25:55 1 social worker, use the title social worker or use the
11:25:58 2 abbreviation SW, unless they hold a current license or
11:26:02 3 have received a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctoral degree
11:26:06 4 from an accredited school or program of social work.
11:26:10 5 Working with children and families does
11:26:12 6 not make one a social worker. A social work license or
11:26:18 7 a degree from an accredited social work program makes
11:26:20 8 you a social worker. And while there is much more that
11:26:24 9 goes into the heart of social work, the values and the
11:26:25 10 ethics that have been talked about before, you are not
11:26:28 11 legally a social worker just because you serve
11:26:32 12 families.
11:26:32 13 I'm an individual who receives the calls
11:26:35 14 and e-mails from social workers and consumers of social
11:26:38 15 work services, notifying me of someone who refers to
11:26:41 16 himself or herself as a social worker, when his or her
11:26:44 17 is, in fact, not a social worker. And nearly every
11:26:49 18 time there is a tragedy involving Children and Youth,
11:26:50 19 the caseworker is referred to as a social worker.
11:26:55 20 After inquiring about the professional background as a
11:26:58 21 caseworker, I found that more than 80 percent of the
11:27:00 22 high profile reports in the past two years have
11:27:04 23 involved caseworkers without a social work background.
11:27:07 24 I receive more complaints about title protection
11:27:10 25 violations from children and youth agencies, public and 70
11:27:13 1 private than any other practice setting. I receive and
11:27:17 2 respond to nearly one report a week.
11:27:21 3 It's essential that caseworkers are honest
11:27:24 4 about their professional background with their
11:27:26 5 coworkers and clients. And I truly believe that most
11:27:29 6 often when using that term, it's from individuals who
11:27:32 7 are not aware of title protection, who are not aware of
11:27:35 8 what social work means in our communities.
11:27:38 9 And when thinking about retention and the
11:27:41 10 importance of respect to someone's professional
11:27:43 11 identify within the workplace, this is one change we
11:27:48 12 can easily make to help social workers feel appreciated
11:27:50 13 and valued in the workplace. So please help us in
11:27:54 14 protecting the integrity of the profession, and help
15 encourage social workers in the child welfare field by
11:28:00 16 acknowledging their specialized skills and respecting
11:28:03 17 the professional social work title that they have
11:28:06 18 earned.
11:28:07 19 Thank you again for the opportunity to
11:28:09 20 testify on behalf of Pennsylvania social workers. And
11:28:11 21 we truly look forward to continued collaboration.
11:28:15 22 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you, Tara. Are
11:28:17 23 there any questions? Representative McClinton?
11:28:25 24 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: Thank you,
25 Chairwoman. Thank you, Tara, for your testimony and 71
11:28:26 1 for your work with the national association. My
11:28:28 2 question is, what is the trend nationally? Have other
11:28:32 3 states required that social workers have a social work
11:28:36 4 degree? Is Pennsylvania lagging behind or are we kind
11:28:40 5 of with the other ones with the status quo? Please let
11:28:42 6 me know, because I honestly cannot answer that.
11:28:49 7 MS. BREITSPRECHER: Sure. This is
11:28:50 8 something that we see --- and like I said, there are
11:28:50 9 counties that have taken it upon themselves to say, we
11:28:52 10 are requiring a Bachelor's degree. You are not able to
11:28:57 11 substitute with experience. And again, in Pennsylvania
11:29:00 12 we're coming down to the 12 credits in social science
11:29:03 13 is an absolute minimum, not being able to substitute
11:29:06 14 from there.
11:29:07 15 We have done some work in looking at other
11:29:10 16 Commonwealths and how their State Civil Service exam
11:29:13 17 looks. There are typically delineated positions. And
11:29:18 18 so maybe the social work degree would not be required
11:29:23 19 for the most entry-level professional. But there would
11:29:26 20 be very specific roles that that individual may only be
11:29:29 21 able to do without that degree.
11:29:31 22 But that's something that we can certainly
11:29:32 23 look more into other states to see what that entails as
11:29:37 24 opposed to what the positions are looking like here,
11:29:39 25 that don't require that degree. 72
11:29:44 1 REPRESENTATIVE MCCLINTON: And do you
11:29:44 2 think that the degree should be required for anyone
11:29:47 3 doing children human services or determine whether or
11:29:52 4 not you're actually working for the county as a social
11:29:55 5 worker with the title?
11:29:59 6 MS. BREITSPRECHER: Sure. Ideally, we
11:30:00 7 would like to see everyone with a social work degree.
11:30:01 8 We understand that there are individuals who have been
11:30:04 9 doing this work for a very long time that don't have
11:30:07 10 social work degrees, that are doing an incredible job
11:30:10 11 in their agencies. And so that's why we would like to
11:30:13 12 look forward into a social science degree at the very
11:30:17 13 least. So while we believe that social work would best
11:30:20 14 train our workforce, if someone has a psychology
11:30:24 15 degree, has experience, if someone has a human services
11:30:27 16 degree, which is a Bachelor's degree as well, but we
11:30:30 17 would like to see this as a requirement beyond Children
11:30:37 18 & Youth, which I believe is what you're getting at here
11:30:37 19 and other practice settings, that you have the
11:30:39 20 educational background.
11:30:41 21 And what is unique to social work is their
11:30:43 22 requirement for the field experience. So again,
11:30:45 23 thinking about a Bachelor's-level social worker having
11:30:49 24 at least 600 hours of supervised experience upon
11:30:55 25 graduation. While the trainings available are 73
11:30:58 1 phenomenal --- and I think you heard many caseworkers
11:30:59 2 speak to that during the last hearing. The trainings
11:31:01 3 that they've gone through being so helpful to the work
11:31:05 4 that they're doing, to think about coming into those
11:31:09 5 trainings with some field experience already, sometimes
11:31:10 6 you don't know what questions to ask until you've been
11:31:13 7 involved in the practice. And we truly believe that
11:31:16 8 this educational background and the field experience
11:31:19 9 would better prepare our workforce.
11:31:24 10 MS. BREITSPRECHER: Thank you.
11:31:24 11 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Anyone else? Thank you
11:31:26 12 very much, Tara. And finally, this morning we're going
11:31:32 13 to welcome Sandra Moore, Administrator Office of
11:31:40 14 Children and Families in the Courts, in the
11:31:42 15 Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Ms.
11:31:45 16 Moore, it's nice to see you again. Thank you for being
11:31:47 17 here. Yes, we'll change. We just keep putting new
11:31:49 18 nametags. And we are ready to go when you are. Thank
11:31:51 19 you.
11:31:55 20 MS. MOORE: Wonderful. Good morning.
11:31:57 21 Wow. Good morning, Chairwoman Watson, Chairman
11:32:01 22 Conklin, Committee Members, some of whom I know, and
11:32:05 23 Staff Members. It is my honor to be here this morning.
11:32:07 24 And thank you very much for the invitation to come and
11:32:10 25 speak, as to why the court is interested in this area 74
11:32:12 1 of practice. As Chairwoman said, my name is Sandra
11:32:16 2 Moore. I'm the Director of the Office of Children and
11:32:21 3 Families in the Courts. That is an office that was
11:32:22 4 created by the Supreme Court approximately ten years
11:32:25 5 ago within the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania
11:32:28 6 Courts.
11:32:29 7 I hope to do three things this morning. I
11:32:33 8 hope, number one, to share a little bit of information
11:32:35 9 about the Children's Roundtable, State Roundtable and
11:32:39 10 some of the operations of that and the Court
11:32:42 11 Improvement Program. Second to explain why the courts,
11:32:43 12 and specifically the State Roundtable within the court
11:32:47 13 system, is interested in this topic of child welfare
11:32:50 14 retention and turnover. And third, to talk a little
11:32:53 15 bit about what we have done regarding the issue.
11:32:56 16 But I wanted to back up just a moment and
11:32:58 17 let --- on a sidenote, and let you know my background.
11:33:01 18 Because I think that might be helpful as I make my
11:33:04 19 comments. I have a Bachelor's degree in sociology,
11:33:06 20 which included that internship that Tara was just
11:33:09 21 talking about. I have a Master's degree in social work
11:33:11 22 from Cal State Fresno. I began my career in social
11:33:16 23 work as a child welfare social worker in the State of
11:33:18 24 California in the mid-1980s. I was a line social
11:33:22 25 worker, primarily in the Investigative Unit. I was a 75
11:33:25 1 supervisor. I was an administrator of child welfare in
11:33:29 2 California.
11:33:30 3 When I moved to Pennsylvania in 1997, I
11:33:34 4 became the Deputy Administrator for Washington County's
11:33:36 5 Child Welfare Agency. In 2001, I became the Children
6 and Youth Administrator in Dauphin County, and later
11:33:44 7 the Human Service Director in Dauphin County. In 2008,
11:33:46 8 I became the Director of the office where I currently
11:33:49 9 receive. So for the past eight years I've been working
11:33:53 10 very closely with our liaison, Supreme Court Justice
11:33:57 11 Max Baer, overseeing statewide effort to improve the
11:34:00 12 dependency court system. But in all practicality, my
11:34:04 13 career has been child welfare. First in the Child
11:34:08 14 Welfare Agency and now in the courts. I also wanted to
11:34:11 15 comment, that I taught in the CWEL program here at
11:34:13 16 Temple University. And I'm a graduate of California's
11:34:16 17 version of the CWEL program for my Master's degree.
11:34:19 18 All that said, the Court Improvement
11:34:22 19 Program. The Court Improvement Program is a federal
11:34:27 20 program that exists in all 50 states, the District of
11:34:29 21 Columbia and Puerto Rico. It began in 1993, over
11:34:32 22 20 years ago, with a focus on dependency court
11:34:35 23 improvements and enhancements that would help achieve
11:34:40 24 child welfare outcomes of safety, wellbeing and
11:34:42 25 permanency. In Pennsylvania, we've added an additional 76
11:34:46 1 outcome that we'd like to see in that strong families.
11:34:50 2 Because we believe strong families and strong
11:34:50 3 communities are what get us to those other outcomes.
11:34:53 4 The federal focus of the Court Improvement
11:34:56 5 Program is on the court itself, so the judges, the
11:35:00 6 hearing officers, the lawyers who practice in our
11:35:01 7 dependency court system. Pennsylvania, we've again
11:35:05 8 taken a little bit broader perspective in that we've
11:35:07 9 included many more people than just judges and lawyers
11:35:10 10 in our conversations. We have child welfare
11:35:14 11 administrators, we have private providers, we have
11:35:15 12 obviously all the attorneys. We've included the mental
11:35:19 13 health system, drug and alcohol system and the
11:35:21 14 educational system in our conversations and our
11:35:25 15 planning.
11:35:27 16 The Court Improvement National Program
11:35:30 17 really was the result of several things. First,
11:35:32 18 significant research that really speaks to children
11:35:36 19 having better outcomes when they have safe, loving,
11:35:40 20 permanent families in which to grow up, rather than the
11:35:41 21 temporary foster care system. Second, the significant
11:35:45 22 increase that the federal government saw about 20 years
11:35:50 23 ago, in our Foster Care System, where we had a number
11:35:52 24 of children coming into the system, sort of getting
11:35:56 25 caught in the system and corresponding with that, the 77
11:35:57 1 huge increase of cost to the federal government. And
11:36:02 2 then third and lastly, the recognition that the court
11:36:05 3 plays an integral role in keeping children safe. And
11:36:08 4 certainly no child comes into out-of-home placement or
11:36:15 5 leaves out-of-home placement or the dependency system
11:36:15 6 itself, without a judge or hearing officer being
11:36:19 7 involved.
11:36:19 8 So in Pennsylvania, we have three general
11:36:23 9 areas that we're looking at in Court Improvement. The
11:36:26 10 first is the enhancement of the court's capacity to
11:36:28 11 oversee dependency cases. So this really speaks to
11:36:33 12 things like judicial education, tools and resources
11:36:37 13 created for judges, judicial oversight and just how
11:36:41 14 cases are transferred in between the court systems,
11:36:46 15 legal representation and then the court's data system
11:36:50 16 itself to track how well it's doing.
11:36:52 17 The second area is the enhancement in the
11:36:54 18 overall child dependency system. And this is where
11:36:57 19 casework retention comes into play. And the third area
11:37:01 20 is the safe reduction of youth in out-of-home
11:37:07 21 replacements and simultaneously enhancing the
11:37:08 22 experience for those youth who do have to come into
11:37:13 23 out-of-home care for safety reasons.
11:37:16 24 In 2006, there were approximately 23,000
11:37:20 25 youth in out-of-home care in Pennsylvania. That's when 78
11:37:22 1 the Court Improvement Program began here in
11:37:25 2 Pennsylvania. Since that time, we've reduced that
11:37:28 3 number of children by about 7,000. That translates
11:37:32 4 into about 90 --- currently, about $93 million a year
11:37:36 5 for Pennsylvania counties, state and the federal
11:37:41 6 government. All that really means is, that if we had
11:37:45 7 those 7,000 children still in care and we were doing
11:37:47 8 child welfare as we currently are doing it today, we
11:37:51 9 would be --- the federal government, the state and
11:37:54 10 local counties would be spending another $92 million on
11:37:58 11 this system. What's happened in Pennsylvania, is that
11:38:01 12 funds have been shifted to support more in-home
13 community protective services while we reduce the need
11:38:08 14 for out-of-home care.
11:38:11 15 I want to talk just a moment about the
11:38:13 16 Children's Roundtable structure. Because it's very
11:38:16 17 important to understand how we get the caseworker
11:38:20 18 retention. Ten years ago when Justice Baer began the
11:38:23 19 recreation of our Court Improvement Program what he
11:38:26 20 recognized was that there really wasn't a structure in
11:38:31 21 place for the court to communicate with itself.
11:38:31 22 Meaning, judges typically come to court, get to the
11:38:36 23 courthouse, go to their courtroom, hear their cases, do
11:38:40 24 their work, go back home. What we didn't have was a
11:38:43 25 structure for a judge in Washington County to learn 79
11:38:46 1 from a judge in Greene County to learn from a judge in
11:38:49 2 Philadelphia County and have those conversations. So
11:38:50 3 we created the Children's Roundtable structure.
11:38:54 4 The other thing that did not exist ten,
11:38:57 5 ten and a half years ago, or it existed in spots in
11:39:00 6 Pennsylvania but not throughout Pennsylvania, there
11:39:02 7 wasn't a really good way for child welfare
11:39:05 8 administrators to have conversations with their local
11:39:08 9 judges. Typically what happened is, there was a
11:39:09 10 concern that if that occurred, maybe there would be
11:39:13 11 some conversation about cases. And obviously, you can
11:39:17 12 never talk about a case outside of the courtroom. But
11:39:20 13 Justice Baer head experienced, that if you're leading a
11:39:26 14 system, you really had to work unitedly to forge
11:39:28 15 forward in the changes and enhancements of that system.
11:39:32 16 And he believed very strongly, that the courts had an
11:39:33 17 obligation to have a relationship with their child
11:39:37 18 welfare administrator and the other people involved in
11:39:40 19 the dependency system. But that you needed to build a
11:39:43 20 wall and talk about administrative stuff and never talk
11:39:46 21 about a case, which is a structure that we put into
22 place.
11:39:48 23 So what we have now in Pennsylvania, is a
11:39:53 24 three-tiered system called our Children's Roundtable
11:39:56 25 Initiative. What the Supreme Court asks of every 80
11:39:59 1 county and every jurisdiction in Pennsylvania was that
11:40:02 2 the primary or lead dependency judge convene a local
11:40:05 3 group in their county, and that they invite anybody who
11:40:10 4 works --- who impacts the dependency system children
11:40:12 5 who have been abused and neglected. And that the ---
11:40:16 6 while the judge convenes that meeting, the judge
11:40:19 7 co-facilitates the conversation with the child welfare
11:40:22 8 administrators. So the meeting actually is run by both
11:40:24 9 of them. That's really the only parameters that were
11:40:27 10 put on that local Children's Roundtable. They were
11:40:29 11 asked to convene them and then talk about whatever your
11:40:32 12 local issues are and whatever concerns are and
11:40:35 13 solutions.
11:40:35 14 The second tier of the Roundtable
11:40:38 15 structure --- or what's called Leadership Roundtables.
11:40:43 16 And you have diagrams that's listed in your materials.
11:40:44 17 But the Leadership Roundtables put together like-size
11:40:49 18 counties in seven different roundtables. Now, the
11:40:52 19 local roundtables can meet as often as, locally, they
11:40:55 20 want to. Some meet monthly, some meet bimonthly, some
21 meet several times a year. It's really up to the
22 county to decide. The Leadership Roundtables meet in
11:41:02 23 the spring and in the fall. We bring together the
11:41:06 24 judge, the administrator and one additional person, the
11:41:12 25 county's choice, to these meetings and we talk about 81
11:41:13 1 issues that are impacting like-size counties. So our
11:41:14 2 Leadership Roundtable 1 has the five largest counties
11:41:18 3 in Pennsylvania. The thinking behind that was that
11:41:21 4 like-size counties might have like-size issues,
11:41:23 5 like-size resources and the solutions might work for
11:41:26 6 one another.
11:41:28 7 But my staff attend --- I and my staff
11:41:30 8 attend all of our seven Leadership Roundtables in the
11:41:33 9 spring and in the fall. And what we're looking for are
11:41:37 10 conversations that are happening in all seven counties
11:41:38 11 --- or Leadership Roundtables. I have to say, that
11:41:41 12 child welfare retention and turnover last year came up
11:41:46 13 in all seven Leadership Roundtables. So counties from
11:41:49 14 the size of Potter to Philadelphia were having
11:41:53 15 conversations about caseworker retention and how that
11:41:56 16 impacted them.
11:41:56 17 So what happens from those Leadership
11:41:59 18 Roundtables, the conversations that are like across
11:42:02 19 counties make their way to the agenda of our State
11:42:06 20 Roundtable. Our State Roundtable meets once a year.
11:42:08 21 It's a two-day meeting. It's actually tri-chaired by
11:42:11 22 Cathy Utz, the Deputy Secretary for Office of Children,
11:42:16 23 Youth and Families, Justice Baer and me. That group
11:42:18 24 actually is going to meet this Wednesday and Thursday.
11:42:21 25 So I had hoped to be able to share a lot of information 82
11:42:25 1 with you. I can share pieces of information until the
11:42:28 2 State Roundtable meetings. And then I'd be happy to
11:42:30 3 come back and share more.
11:42:30 4 CHAIRMAN WATSON: We would invite you
11:42:32 5 back.
11:42:33 6 MS. MOORE: I would love to come back. So
11:42:36 7 the State Roundtable's in your packet also. I gave you
11:42:39 8 a slide that shows the types --- well, all of the
11:42:44 9 workgroups that we've had through the State Roundtable.
11:42:47 10 All of these workgroups come from local child welfare
11:42:51 11 discussions that have made it to the Leadership
11:42:54 12 Roundtables and then made their way to the State
13 Roundtable.
11:42:55 14 So things like drug and alcohol, hearing
11:43:01 15 officer education, incarcerated parents, truancy and
11:43:05 16 education, services for older youth. Those things have
11:43:10 17 all made their way to the State Roundtable. And I gave
11:43:13 18 you the year that they were first adopted by the State
11:43:15 19 Roundtable as workgroups. Most recently, last year the
11:43:20 20 State Roundtable commissioned a Child Welfare Workforce
11:43:24 21 Retention Workgroup.
11:43:26 22 And I'll tell you a little bit about why
11:43:27 23 they did that. That issue made its way to the State
11:43:33 24 Roundtable, and there was a very lengthy conversation
11:43:35 25 at State Roundtable about why the courts ought to or 83
11:43:41 1 might be interested in that. Initially, we were
11:43:44 2 concerned that maybe we were veering too off of court
11:43:48 3 issues to get into what really --- initially, we
11:43:49 4 thought was an agency alone item. But as we listened
11:43:53 5 to judges and lawyers talk about the impact they were
11:43:57 6 seeing in their courtroom and with their clients, we
11:44:00 7 realized that this was a bigger issue than just the
11:44:04 8 Agency's issue. So we had judges who were saying that
11:44:07 9 they were making decisions based on the information
11:44:09 10 that was being provided by caseworkers in their
11:44:13 11 courtrooms. Judges can only make their decisions based
11:44:16 12 on the evidence that's presented to them in their
11:44:19 13 courtroom. They don't go out to the home. They don't
11:44:22 14 see. They don't interview the children. They don't do
11:44:24 15 the investigation. They have to rely on the evidence
11:44:26 16 that's presented.
11:44:27 17 As you heard today, and I'm sure you heard
11:44:29 18 at your last hearing, child welfare is a very
11:44:32 19 complicated profession. And it's very complicated
11:44:36 20 work. What's happened is, the longer you're in the
11:44:39 21 profession, better educated you are, the longer you're
11:44:43 22 in the profession, the better you become at the
11:44:45 23 profession, the better skilled you are to come into the
11:44:47 24 court and provide testimony that judges need to be able
11:44:51 25 to make their decisions. And judges were talking a lot 84
11:44:55 1 at our State Roundtable about seeing a particular
11:44:57 2 caseworker at the first hearing, a different caseworker
11:45:02 3 at the next hearing and maybe a third caseworker at the
11:45:05 4 following hearing, made it very difficult to get the
11:45:08 5 information and have the continuity that they needed to
11:45:12 6 make the decisions that they had to make.
11:45:14 7 We also heard from lawyers who talked
11:45:17 8 about their --- serving their actual clients. So we
11:45:19 9 heard from guardian ad litems, the lawyers who
11:45:21 10 represent children in dependency cases, who said that
11:45:23 11 every time the caseworker changes that means their
11:45:26 12 child/client has to repeat their story, which is very
11:45:30 13 challenging for children.
11:45:31 14 Then we heard from parent attorneys, who
11:45:33 15 said the same thing was happening with parents. Every
11:45:35 16 time a new caseworker came onboard, the parent had to
11:45:39 17 now repeat their story. And there was a feeling ---
11:45:42 18 although we haven't proven this yet, it's one of the
11:45:44 19 things we asked our workgroup to look at, that
11:45:48 20 permanent ---- safe permanency for children may be
11:45:50 21 being delayed simply because of the rotation of people
11:45:53 22 who are trying to work that case.
11:45:56 23 So as we do with any issue that State
11:46:00 24 Roundtable believes is a significant concern for the
11:46:03 25 dependency system as a hole, we commissioned a 85
11:46:05 1 workgroup. The workgroups is Chaired by the Honorable
11:46:10 2 Linda Cordaro. She is a Judge out of Fayette ---
11:46:15 3 dependency Judge out of Fayette County. And Shara
11:46:16 4 Saveikis, the Executive Director of Westmoreland's
11:46:19 5 Child Welfare Bureau.
11:46:21 6 The workgroup includes 35 members. This
11:46:24 7 is one of our few workgroups where when we ask for ---
11:46:27 8 all of our workgroups are volunteer. When we ask for
11:46:30 9 volunteers, we had to say no to people because there
11:46:33 10 were so many people who wanted to volunteer. Number
11:46:34 11 one, that told us how important this issue was. But we
11:46:37 12 actually had to stop the group at 35. We have judges.
11:46:41 13 We have three County Commissioners. We have child
11:46:46 14 welfare administrators, supervisors, caseworkers. We
11:46:47 15 have attorneys, guardian ad litems, parent attorneys
11:46:49 16 and solicitors. We have service providers. We have
11:46:53 17 representatives from the Department of Human Service's
11:46:56 18 Office of Children, Youth and Families. Actually,
11:46:59 19 Cathy Utz actually sits on this group. And we have the
11:47:01 20 Pennsylvania Child Welfare Administrators Association
11:47:03 21 represented, Child Welfare Resource Center sits on
11:47:06 22 that. The Juvenile Court Judge's Commission has a
11:47:08 23 person who sits on it. The statewide Adoption Network,
11:47:12 24 CASA, the Court Appointed Special Advocates, and the
11:47:15 25 University School of Social Work, actually Dr. Cahalane 86
11:47:20 1 sits on the group.
11:47:22 2 State Roundtable asked the Committee ---
11:47:24 3 or the workgroup to first understand the issue. So in
11:47:28 4 this first year, what the workgroup has done is scoured
11:47:30 5 the country, scoured Pennsylvania to figure out what
11:47:36 6 does this issue look like in our state. They also
11:47:39 7 looked for what practices may be occurring across the
11:47:42 8 country and specifically in Pennsylvania, that appear
11:47:46 9 to be positively impacting caseworker retention.
11:47:50 10 I'll give you a brief insight. Two of the
11:47:54 11 programs that they looked at, one I think Mr. Byers
11:47:58 12 commented on, it's called onboarding. And it's a very
11:48:01 13 interesting way of bringing caseworkers into the agency
11:48:05 14 and supporting them in their introduction to the
11:48:09 15 agency.
11:48:10 16 The second practice that they saw actually
11:48:13 17 comes out of Tioga County. Tioga County --- many
11:48:18 18 counties when caseworkers leave, they do an exit
11:48:20 19 interview, why are you leaving, and they gather that
11:48:22 20 information. Tioga County did what is called stay
11:48:26 21 interviews. So Tioga County interviews their
11:48:29 22 caseworkers when they're leaving the agency. But they
11:48:31 23 also routinely interview those caseworkers who are
11:48:34 24 choosing to stay in the field, because they want to
11:48:36 25 know what it is about this work that gets you to stay. 87
11:48:40 1 Our workgroup modified that a little bit.
11:48:44 2 They added a couple questions about court and the
11:48:47 3 experience with court. And we sent that out to all
11:48:50 4 Children and Youth administrators and Judges across the
11:48:54 5 Commonwealth. And we asked them to have their
11:48:55 6 front-line caseworkers fill out that survey and submit
11:48:58 7 it back to us. I have to say, within the first 24
11:49:01 8 hours of this survey being released, we had over 800
11:49:04 9 responses. That was pretty phenomenal for us.
11:49:07 10 So the results of that --- those stay
11:49:10 11 interviews are in this first years report also. And
11:49:13 12 I'll be happy to share that report with you and the
11:49:18 13 results of what the workgroup has discovered. I can do
11:49:23 14 that --- like I said, after this weekend, I can
11:49:25 15 actually give you the report itself.
11:49:27 16 The other thing --- the last piece that
11:49:29 17 I'd like to end on is, there may be another report that
11:49:32 18 would be of interest and helpful. As you look at this
11:49:37 19 issue and try to figure our what might be most helpful
11:49:43 20 to our system. And that is our trauma workgroup. We
11:49:46 21 have our State Roundtable Commission workers
11:49:48 22 specifically to look at trauma. That workgroup
11:49:53 23 originated out of a previous workgroup that was looking
11:49:55 24 at the use of psychotropic medications with foster
11:49:58 25 youth. And what that psychotropic medication workgroup 88
11:50:02 1 concluded after about three years of pretty intensive
11:50:05 2 work, was that the use of psychotropic medication
11:50:07 3 really seemed to be the BAND-Aid on top of trauma. And
11:50:10 4 that if you really wanted to understand that, you
11:50:13 5 really had to understand trauma.
11:50:14 6 So that workgroup ended, and we treated a
11:50:16 7 new workgroup that specifically is looking at trauma.
11:50:20 8 It is Chaired by Judge Bob Mellon out of Bucks County.
11:50:23 9 And that workgroup has really narrowed its focus to
11:50:28 10 trauma connected to the courtroom experience, trauma
11:50:30 11 for children, trauma for families, Trauma for
11:50:34 12 participants. But specifically, they were changed with
11:50:38 13 looking at the trauma and impact to the casework staff
11:50:40 14 coming into the courtroom. I don't know how many folks
11:50:43 15 have ever experienced testifying in court. But even
11:50:48 16 for those of us who spend a lot of time in court being
11:50:50 17 under oath and testifying and being cross examined,
11:50:52 18 it's a pretty harrowing experience. So this workgroup
11:50:57 19 is looking at how do we reduce the trauma associated
11:51:01 20 with that, the challenges and stress associated with
11:51:03 21 that for our workforce. So I would suggest, that I
11:51:09 22 would like to share that one with the Committee, too.
11:51:09 23 And at this point, I'll just thank you
11:51:12 24 again. And ask if there are any questions.
11:51:16 25 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you very much. 89
11:51:17 1 And we do look forward to you coming back. And again,
11:51:21 2 I think we've established a relationship because we
11:51:23 3 recognize the courts are an integral part of what we
11:51:27 4 are all here for, and that is the better protection of
11:51:30 5 children. But at the same time, keeping families
11:51:33 6 together when we can and all of that. And certainly
11:51:36 7 having testified in court several times, it's a scary
11:51:40 8 thing. And even then, I thought I knew what was going
11:51:43 9 to happen. But as soon as you raise your hand or
11:51:45 10 whatever, yes, it seems difficult. I can only imagine.
11:51:48 11 And I have done and followed Bucks County Children and
11:51:53 12 Youth, and been out with them. That is very difficult
11:51:56 13 for children who are then put into those situations.
11:51:59 14 If it's hard for an adult, imagine what it's like for a
11:52:02 15 children.
11:52:02 16 Do we have any additional questions? I
11:52:07 17 think we're ---. Do you have a question? I'm sorry.
18 CHAIRMAN CONKIN: No, just a closing
19 statement.
11:52:10 20 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Okay. We're into
11:52:12 21 closing statements. We thank you for taking the time
11:52:14 22 to be here. We look forward to an ongoing
11:52:18 23 relationship, that we've establish and we will enlarge
11:52:21 24 upon. Thank you.
25 CHAIRMAN CONKIN: Thank you. 90
11:52:24 1 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Chairman Conklin, you
11:52:24 2 had a comment?
11:52:26 3 CHAIRMAN CONKIN: Just very quickly. I
11:52:27 4 want to thank everyone that came out today, and
11:52:30 5 especially for what you do. And I'm not going to
11:52:32 6 belabor with a lot of stories. But many years ago,
11:52:36 7 about 16 years ago, when I was the County Commissioner,
11:52:37 8 my first insight to the children and youth program was
11:52:41 9 a gentleman by the name of Terry Watson. And this will
11:52:44 10 encompass what you call do.
11:52:46 11 Well, we had our monthly meeting with
11:52:48 12 them. And this good news story, everyone had a good
11:52:50 13 news story. It's the first or second meeting I had
11:52:53 14 ever met the man. And his good news story was about
11:52:55 15 two young girls under the age of ten that were being
11:52:57 16 molested by their mother and their father. And I'm not
11:53:01 17 going to give you the story of how it happened. And at
11:53:03 18 the end of the story, I looked at Terry. And I said,
11:53:04 19 Terry, I thought this was the good news story. And he
11:53:08 20 says, it is. We got the children out of the home and
11:53:10 21 we have the parents now in custody. That was my first
11:53:15 22 insight to what you all do. What you do is absolutely
11:53:17 23 more than what the average person should ever have to
11:53:20 24 see, what these young children go through. Thank you
11:53:22 25 for that. 91
11:53:22 1 And just my second story is, is that my
11:53:25 2 son graduated with a four-degree with a Bachelor of
11:53:29 3 Science, went into the field. And his reason for
11:53:31 4 leaving this year is not the fact that he did not like
11:53:34 5 working as a caseworker and taking care of individuals.
11:53:37 6 His reason for leaving is quite simple. He's engaged
11:53:40 7 to get married. The $27,000 a year is almost a
11:53:45 8 ceiling, and he cannot provide for a family. So every
11:53:48 9 time I talk to somebody in your field, the story is the
11:53:51 10 same. Not that they want to leave the field because
11:53:53 11 it's not so much a burnout, it's the fact that they
11:53:56 12 need to provide for a family. And the wages that we
11:54:00 13 passed from the state to you all is not enough to
11:54:03 14 sustain families on that, with the amount of debt they
11:54:06 15 have from that degree. So I want to thank you all for
11:54:08 16 coming. Chairwoman, I want to thank you as well.
11:54:11 17 CHAIRMAN WATSON: Thank you. I certainly
11:54:13 18 would echo Chairman Conklin said, in that we thank each
11:54:17 19 of you for taking the time to attend, to provide us
11:54:20 20 with written testimony. And also testimony is being
11:54:24 21 videotaped. So they'll see it again and again.
11:54:28 22 Because as I said to one of you this morning, I'm the
11:54:30 23 former teacher. So I'm determined you're going to get
11:54:33 24 this information and you're going to learn it. So we
11:54:36 25 will find a variety of ways for those of our members 92
11:54:39 1 who couldn't get here. But we do thank you very much
11:54:43 2 for being here.
11:54:44 3 Thank you to those in the audience who
11:54:46 4 took the time to be here. I know we call you many
11:54:49 5 times, the stakeholders. I would just say, you are the
11:54:51 6 most active people. I would like to think that most
11:54:55 7 citizens in Pennsylvania are stakeholders when it comes
11:54:59 8 to children. And we're working on that to improve
11:55:05 9 their understanding of what it is that caseworkers do,
11:55:06 10 what is the child welfare system in the Commonwealth of
11:55:12 11 Pennsylvania and what is our overarching goal? And
11:55:16 12 that is the protection --- better protection of
11:55:17 13 children. But certainly, the involvement of families
11:55:20 14 and helping families wherever we can, for them to
11:55:23 15 function in a normal way and see their children group
11:55:27 16 up. That is what we want. And of course, I guess from
11:55:30 17 our point of view, Chairman, we want them all to have
11:55:33 18 jobs and become taxpayers. That's the terrible part
11:55:37 19 --- or the secret of this. But we do.
11:55:39 20 So we thank you for your time and effort.
11:55:41 21 Certainly, if you have an opportunity, I believe they
11:55:44 22 are going to give some kind of a tour here. This is a
11:55:47 23 wonderful facility, doing very good work. And if
11:55:51 24 you've never been here before and you found it, you
11:55:53 25 really shouldn't leave without taking something of a 93
11:55:57 1 tour. But again, thank you so much. And I have do the
11:56:00 2 official --- this hearing is concluded. Thank you.
3 * * * * * * * *
4 HEARING CONCLUDED AT 11:56 A.M.
5 * * * * * * * *
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 94
1 CERTIFICATE
2
3 It is hereby certified that the foregoing proceedings
4 are a true and accurate transcription produced from
5 audio on the said proceedings and that this is a
6 correct transcript of the same.
7
8 Sargent's Court Reporting Service, Inc. 9
10
11
12
13
14 15
16
17
18
19
20 21
22
23
24
25