05 LC 33
0676
House
Bill 605
By:
Representatives Sinkfield of the
60th,
Manning of the
32nd,
Morgan of the
39th,
Ashe of the
56th,
Stephenson of the
92nd,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to children and youth services, so as to provide for
definitions; to provide for legislative intent; to provide for a sufficient
number of qualified child protective services workers; to limit caseloads for
child protective services workers; to provide for requirements relating to
initial investigations; to provide for adequate supervision of child protective
services workers by the Division of Family and Children Services of the
Department of Human Resources; to provide for a monthly report to the Board of
Human Resources regarding caseloads of child protective services workers; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
1 of Chapter 5 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to children and youth services, is amended by adding a new Code section to the
end of such article as follows:
"49-5-24.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Active families' means families for which the department has open case files
regarding one or more children within the family and in which case closing
documents have not been completed, filed, and entered into the data system. For
purposes of this Code section, one family shall be counted as one
case.
(2)
'Active reports' means open case files that have been assigned to a child
protective services worker for investigation, but for which an assessment has
not been completed and no recommendations or investigative conclusions have been
made.
(3)
'Child protective services worker' means a person employed by the Division of
Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources to
investigate, provide follow-up, or provide adoption and placement resources in
cases of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation. This shall include any person
employed by such division as a social services case management associate, social
services case manager, social services specialist, or social services supervisor
and shall be construed to include job titles created in the future involving the
same or similar job functions.
(b)
The General Assembly seeks to protect the well-being of this
statés
children while preserving family integrity. The General Assembly believes that
protection of the health and safety of this
statés
children is important to all Georgians. The General Assembly finds that the
child protective services provided by the Division of Family and Children
Services of the Department of Human Resources are critical to the safety and
well-being of children. The General Assembly further finds that the deaths of
children in the care of the department have resulted, at least in part, from
excessively high case loads, high work force turnover, low morale, inadequate
training and supervision, and a negative public image of the agency. It is the
intent of the General Assembly that the case loads assigned to child protective
services workers be reduced to and maintained at levels that ensure high-quality
services that protect children and youth and strengthen families and
neighborhoods.
(c)
The Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human
Resources shall employ a sufficient number of qualified child protective
services workers to assure the highest quality professional services to
Georgiás
families and children.
(d)(1)
Child protective services workers whose job responsibilities are primarily to
conduct initial investigations into allegations of child abuse, neglect, or
exploitation and to determine the level of risk to the child or children shall
have caseloads of no greater than 12 active reports per month. In determining
the level of risk to a child or children during the initial investigation of an
active report, the child protective services worker shall be assisted in the
assessment process by a mental health professional and a licensed medical
professional as such professionals are defined by the department. Collectively,
the child protective services worker, the mental health professional, and the
licensed medical professional shall recommend actions to be taken to protect the
child or children at issue in the investigation.
(2)
Child protective services workers whose job responsibilities are primarily to
provide follow-up and adoption and placement resources, recommend or take
appropriate action, provide continued assessment, or provide case management
services shall have caseloads no greater than 17 active families at one time.
(3)
Child protective services workers whose job responsibilities include
responsibilities as set out in both paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection
shall have caseloads no greater than ten active families and four active reports
combined.
The
department, in its discretion, may impose more stringent caseload standards than
are included in this subsection, in accordance with Child Welfare League minimum
standards. The workload of employees primarily responsible for screening
reports of abuse and neglect and employees allocated specifically to this
function shall be considered separately from this subsection.
(e)
The Division of Family and Children Services shall provide adequate supervision
of child protective services workers in order to ensure effective service
delivery and staff and professional development. The ratio of child protective
services workers to supervisors shall not exceed five to one.
(f)
The commissioner shall report each month to the board the actual caseload size
by county for each child protective services worker employed to deliver child
protective
services."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.