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Editorial - October 2003 |
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Helping DSS with mounting workload |
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Published October 1, 2003 |
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Recent reports from the Lincoln County Department of Social Services of a mounting workload and increased child neglect and abuse cases are alarming. Social workers are supposed to handle around 12 cases at a time, but in Lincoln County they deal with an average of 20. For the past three months, DSS has handled more than 70 cases a month, and workers are putting in excessively long work days. This is very difficult, stressful work, though often handled by some unique, dedicated people who find satisfaction in helping others. We should do everything possible to make their jobs easier Susan McCracken, director of the Lincoln County DSS, is the first to admit her agency needs all the help she can get. “We’re willing to stand up and say DSS can’t do it alone,” she said in a recent interview. “We have responsibility, we maintain that responsibility, but we can’t do it alone.” She is absolutely correct. It takes a caring community to protect its most fragile citizens. We need to step up and offer assistance when a family is in obvious need … before a situation develops into a “domestic altercation” or a DSS case file. Quite often we can do this as a friend, a relative, a neighbor or a fellow church member. We have many resources in this community, such as Amy’s House, Christian Ministry and Communities in Schools. And of course, law enforcement has an obligation to step in and intercede when a home environment becomes violent. The under-staffed Department of Social Services in Lincoln County does not have near the resources needed to deal with the growing problem of child abuse and neglect. DSS workers face complex regulations, exhaustive gathering of information and the burden of making life-changing decisions to ensure a safe environment for children. All too often the task they see ahead of them seems insurmountable. We, as a community, must do everything possible to make their jobs easier. The state of North Carolina also has responsibility for providing adequate funding for this all-important agency. If the state doesn’t, then the county may have to search resources to make sure this agency gets the assistance it needs.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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