Crunching Numbers And Kids at CPS

In the wake of some highly publicized cases of neglect or abuse, including deaths of young children, and a damning report from the Health and Human Services Commission's inspector general, state leaders are promising dramatic reform of the Child Protective Services division of the Department of Family and Protective Services – not to mention the division of Adult Protective Services. (Some of the acronyms have been changed, but the players mostly remain the same.) Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Tom Craddick have all made statements saying they deplore the current situation and will make reform of CPS a legislative priority in 2005, including more money if necessary. Perry made a point of saying he had lost all confidence in the management of the agency, although it remains unclear how better management might begin to deal adequately with a caseload that has now reached 62 a month per CPS caseworker – each case often involving several children in a household.

Not surprisingly, a House committee that heard that overwhelming number last week was also told that caseworker turnover has reached 40% annually, 50% among front-line investigators. The agency has responded by taking on 123 "new" caseworkers and promising several hundred more, although those hirings simply help maintain the status quo staffing numbers mandated under the current state budget. More disturbingly, one of the reasons caseloads continue to explode is that last year, to meet the GOP leadership's budget targets, the HHSC intentionally underestimated the number of new cases – despite an expanding population and an economic downturn.

But the governor said that if fixing CPS requires additional money, he was prepared to recommend it. "Every indication tells me," Perry told reporters, "that we will have to put additional resources into the hiring of caseworkers so that caseworkers are not stretched too thin, and tragedies can be prevented. Change is on the way because children's lives are on the line." It is difficult to square that assurance with the earlier gubernatorial directive to all state agencies that they prepare prospective budgets for the upcoming biennium that cut another 5% across the board. Moreover, public schools and children's health insurance are already standing in line for emergency action next year, so the Lege will be faced with several competing financial crises, possibly a court order on school finance, and an ingrained ideological commitment to "No New Taxes." In case you're wondering, Texas ranks 48th nationally in per capita spending on child protection (60% lower than the national average), and 47th in the number of children in foster care.

Meanwhile, this week's report on APS, which protects the elderly, paints an equally grim picture. The report, by Health and Human Services Inspector General Brian Flood, based on a review of more than 2,000 cases across the state, describes an inadequate and disorganized process, with caseworkers proceeding under unclear and often conflicting guidelines and seeking to close cases quickly rather than protecting seniors or providing necessary services. "In practice," wrote Flood, "APS sends out caseworkers that are inadequately trained, with essentially no management support, to handle complex social, ethical and legal situations, with a mixed message as to whether they are supposed to investigate or provide social services." Caseworkers are particularly reluctant to declare elderly clients incapable of caring for themselves, with the result that helpless people are often left in "horrific conditions." A House committee is scheduled to review the findings today (Thursday).