Alleged gun threat highlights danger for C&Y caseworkers

The risks faced by Luzerne County Children and Youth workers were front and center Thursday when a man allegedly pulled a gun on a caseworker and caseworker supervisor while they were investigating a child protective services referral in Nanticoke, officials said.

“Both employees are fine — as fine as they can be in such a situation,” said county Human Services Division Head Lynn Hill. “Today is an example of what these workers can be up against and the type of person you need to be to have this job.”

Hill and Acting Children and Youth Administrator Kelly Gaughan said they learned of the incident Thursday afternoon and immediately alerted staff.

They contacted county Mental Health/Developmental Services Administrator Tara Fox about organizing counseling sessions for the two workers and other agency employees struggling to process on-the-job stress.

County Sheriff Brian Szumski also has been asked to organize a personal safety training session for agency workers, they said.

Gaughan said the agency decided to send a second employee — the caseworker supervisor — and request police assistance to investigate the protective services matter Thursday “due to the content in the referral.”

While police cannot be asked to accompany caseworkers on every investigation and review, law enforcement assistance requests are encouraged when there is a probability caseworkers may be placed in a threatening situation, Hill and Gaughan said.

“Thankfully our caseworker and caseworker supervisor had the police with them. We don’t know what could have happened without them,” Hill said.

Further details about the referral the two workers were investigating could not be publicly released due to confidentiality requirements, they said.

The workers’ commitment to investigate despite the dangers shows their concern for protecting the safety of children, they said.

“We really want to drive home the point that it really takes a special person to work in child welfare and human services in general,” Hill said. “They have to be resilient and dedicated.”

Vacancies, new contract

Earlier this month, officials said 58 of the county’s 110 budgeted Children and Youth caseworker positions are currently vacant, significantly increasing caseloads for existing staff.

There is optimism a newly approved union contract with higher compensation will help fill positions.

The new contract boosts the starting salary for the entry-level “caseworker 1” position from $32,418 to $39,000, the county human resources department said.

More experienced “caseworker 2” positions will start at $43,500 — an increase of $4,544 from the previous $38,956.

Based on the 37.5-hour work week, this will elevate the hourly rate from $16.62 to of $20 for caseworker 1s and from $19.98 to $22.32 for caseworker 2s.

The county already has started advertising caseworker 2 positions at the new starting salary in the human resources career opportunities section at luzernecounty.org.

Recruiting and retaining social workers, particularly in child welfare, has been a challenge across the state, Hill said. Most Children and Youth caseworkers are “passionate about their community” and child safety, but they need reasonable compensation, she said.

“That’s why we advocated and worked toward increased salaries,” she said, noting outreach initiatives are underway to make more prospective applicants aware of the positions.