Pressure is surfacing to ease up on child protection reforms.
This is because counties are now legally obligated to use state standards when assessing maltreatment reports. As a result, more reports are being screened in for service, and caseloads are surging.
In response, caseworkers are petitioning legislators for relief.
Fair enough. Giving workers unmanageable caseloads is no way to keep children safe.
However the answer isn’t to dilute or delay reforms. Instead, the legislature should give counties enough staff to do their jobs.
This really is a legislative issue. In Minnesota the state funds only about 23% of child protection and foster care costs. Most states contribute over 60%.
If talk of reconsidering reforms persists we will begin advocating soon to preserve them, not wait for the 2018 legislative session.