Wave of workers to aid area kids

By JIM ROSS

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 18, 2000

INVERNESS -- More troops are coming to help fight the war against child abuse and neglect.

The Legislature has opened its checkbook and authorized state government to hire 19 more abuse investigators in the five-county district that includes Citrus. That marks a 38 percent increase in the investigative ranks.

But that's not the only good news: The state also has money enough to hire a private provider that will send 52 new "service counselors" into the district.

"Any time you get increased resources, it's an exciting thing," said Ron Zychowski, deputy district administrator in District 13, which covers Citrus, Hernando, Marion, Lake and Sumter counties.

How many of those new people will have desks in Citrus? Children and Families officials weren't sure last week. The allocation will depend upon caseloads in each county.

"It would be nice to get at least one," said Lester Smoot, who supervises the investigators in Citrus County. He has six people on staff and is trying to fill a seventh spot.

Investigators are the men and women who check reports filed with the state's child abuse hotlines. Is there evidence of abuse, neglect or abandonment? Should the child be removed from the home and placed in foster care or with a relative? If not, should Children and Families take the parents or caretakers to court and develop a case plan designed to help the entire family?

The investigators answer those questions and others. They are the front-line troops. And they work with law officers, who investigate the same complaints and look for any violation of criminal law.

According to state budget procedures, the 19 investigators will be eligible to begin work Oct. 1.

"It's very good that they are hiring PIs. They can always use more PIs," said Kathleen Cossey, the case volunteer coordinator for the Guardian Ad Litem program, using the shorthand phrase for protective investigator.

Cossey's volunteers serve a specific purpose: They represent the children and the children only, looking out for their interests.

Counselors generally pick up the cases later in the process. They are the behind-the-scenes people who work with those children while the cases make their way through the courts.

News of the staff increases might seem too good to be true. But "this is added capacity," Zychowski said. "This is not replacement capacity."

He went on to note that the district also is receiving additional clerical staff to support the new investigators and counselors.

This marks the second consecutive year that District 13 has received an influx of new employees and money. For the 1999-2000 fiscal year, which ends at the end of this month, the Legislature sent more than 90 new employees toward District 13.

"Last year kind of caught us up and gave us equity and this year is helping us catch up with the added workload that we've experienced in the past year and a half," Zychowski said.

Every county can use more investigators. But Zychowski was quick to note that when it comes to handling child abuse and neglect complaints, Citrus is the best-performing county in the district.

During the 30-day period that ended June 15, Children and Families received 89 new complaints in Citrus. As of that same date, the case backlog was 86. Backlogged cases are ones left open for more than 45 days, often for reasons beyond the agency's control.

"They (Citrus staffers) continue to close more cases in a 30-day period than they get," Zychowski said. That is considered good performance.

As of June 15, the Citrus office had 182 open abuse and neglect cases. Of those, there were only four cases in which an investigator had not visited the victim. That is excellent, because some referrals have bad addresses or directions to the alleged victim's house.

"They (Citrus workers) are right where they need to be in terms of working their cases," Zychowski said.

Hiring the investigators should be a routine exercise, because the job duties and qualifications already are in place.

The service counselors, on the other hand, will be a bit trickier.

As it stands, Children and Families employees fill those positions. But the Legislature, which is moving toward privatizing many of the agency's functions, wants the new counselors in Citrus, and throughout the state, to come from outside agencies.

Children and Families is preparing to issue an invitation to negotiate, Zychowski said. The agency eventually will select a provider, agree on contract terms and have the workers in place by Dec. 1.

"It's a precursor to full-blown privatization of the family-safety function," he said.

But what will the counselors do? Will the agency allow them to take charge of one area of operation or distribute them evenly in a variety of departments?

"We're exploring all kinds of options," Zychowski said. "This is not a simple process."

-- Jim Ross writes about social services in Citrus County. Reach him at 860-7302 or by e-mail at jross@sptimes.com.

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