Stoneleigh Fellow Steve Volk published an article for Metro Philadelphia reviewing the ongoing understaffing occurring within the city’s Department of Human Services.
The Department of Human Services is understaffed and the primary culprit is low starting salary and overwork, says the union representing Philadelphia’s child protective service employees.
“They’ve got our workers doing too much,” says David Wilson, President of AFSCME Local 2187. “Because we’ve got policies that force our workers to go above and beyond state requirements in terms of the depths of the investigations they’re performing.”
This statement from the city’s union representing child welfare investigators will be particularly welcome to child welfare system reformers. Last year, a committee organized by City Councilmember David Oh issued a report that found the city’s Department of Human Services had generated massive distrust in the community by over-policing families.
