4B
Tuesday, May 4, 1993
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SRS balances budgets, caseloads
Limited funds increased work hamper agency
By Jay Williams
Kansan staff writer
Social and Rehabilitative Services of Kansas, stung by budget cuts and high caseloads, is being criticized by those who say the agency is not protecting the children of the state.
One of five child-abuse investigations is inadequate, according to the 1991 legislative post audit of SRS. Only a fraction of families who could use help get any. SRS staff is overworked and undertrained. Children are getting the wrong types of care
SRS, child advocates and civil liberties lawyers place most of the blame on a lack of money from the Kansas Legislature.
"When they cut something, they cut social programs," said Robert Byers, head of the SRS Child Protective Service unit in Douglas County. "That's fine. But the reality is if you cut them, then don't expect protection. Expect that children are going to die."
Budget crunch
In the 1980s, SRS budgets suffered. The budgets took large cuts in funds while the workload increased.
The Legislature seems to be more aware of the problem in the 1900s. SRS received a large infusion of money in 1991 and 11 child welfare bills passed the House and Senate during the 1922 session.
But problems remain.
Several issues come together in a lawsuit filed against SRS and the state on behalf of 10 children who were or are in SRS custody. The plaintiffs cite high caseloads and undertrained workers, lack of services for families and the placing of children in the wrong types of care.
SRS denies all allegations mentioned in the suit. The case returned to court in April.
"If you want to characterize the problem, first it is inadequate resources," said Chris Handson, a lawyer with the American Civil
Liberties Union working with the plaintiffs. "Second, the system is inadequately managed, primarily at the state level."
John Alquest, service delivery chief for SRS Youth and Adult Services, did not comment specifically about the lawsuit but said the agency had started to fix problems of past years.
"We were on the track long before the lawsuit came into play," he said.
More cases, fewer dollars
Other SRS officials say they are becoming more creative in how SRS uses the money it does receive. One example comes from the hiring of paraprofessionals — workers who are not certified as social workers but who can perform tasks such as transporting clients and filling out paperwork.
The services and changes cost money, which SBS has backed in the past decade.
In 1901, SRS spent an estimated $84 million of Kansas taxpayer money on child welfare. Except for aid to public schools, no agency receives more money from the state than SRS.
It was not until 1913 that Youth and Adult Services' budget and staff were increased greatly, from $58 million to $80 million and from 528 to 714 full-time employees.
But in the late 1980s, the budget crunch hit Youth and Adult Services hard. As the number of children needing services continued to increase, the budget decreased by $3 million from 1986 to 1987.
In the past, caseloads for workers in Byers' office reached more than 100 a week with a staff of four full-timers and one part-timer. he said. The Douglas County SRS unit has added two full-time and one part-time position to help with child abuse and neglect investigations.
"Don't expect us to do miracles," Byers said. "We'll do our best, but we can only do so much."
According to the 1991 post audit, there was a 20-percent increase in the number of children who had entered SRS custody but no appreciable change in the number of social workers.
The money that becomes available goes directly to the children, the agency's first priority. That leaves little for training the workers, who come in contact with the children on a regular basis.
STATE OF THE CHILDREN
"I've never talked to an ex-SRS worker who said they were adequately trained," said Chris Petr, assistant professor of social welfare at the University of Kansas. "They get them out there and get them working."
Alquest said social workers new to SRS hit the ground running. He said part of the reason for inadequate training was the lack of staff available to train workers. The state has about a third less training staff than other states of comparable size.
The lack of training and the high intensity of the work lead to high turnover rates for workers. The rapid turnover is noticed by others who are outside of SRS.
"For some of the kids, I'm it," said Jean Sheppard, a Douglas County district court judge in juvenile court. "I've been the only stable thing in the kids' lives. It's sad when the only person you can bond with is your judge."
In November, Sheppard had to delay three cases involving SRS custody because the new SRS workers had not had time to familiarize themselves with the cases.
"Foster parents and the kids, if they're older, will know the system better than some of the workers," she said.
Competing priorities
So who is accountable for SRS' problems?
Petr said the Legislature did not understand the child-care problem in Kansas. In addition, legislators' constituents have different priorities than child welfare.
"I think the average Joe Smith probably prefers highways to children's issues," Petr said.
Also, the Legislature and others that should serve as the watchdogs for children did not check on how the system did its job. he said.
Byers said SRS estimated how many children exited the system, but estimates can be off by as much as 50 percent, he said.
SRS did not do a good job of opening the eyes of Kansas to the problems in the 1980s, Petr said. SRS leaders did not present the Legislature with the data detailing the crises of children and their families.
"Can they say how many families have been here?" Byers said "How many potential child abuse cases there have been? They could give you a figure, but it probably wouldn't be accurate."
Funding is hurt by the record keeping, Byers said. Since determining how many children actually need help is difficult, SRS cannot get the funding it needs.
Even when the funding is there, delivering the services clients need can be difficult.
"People hear 'SRS' and think 'welfare,' said Toni Minor, SRS social worker in Lawrence. "Contrary to the popular idea, people don't want welfare. People want to be able to take care of themselves."
Fixing the problems
Sidney Hardman, legislative director for Kansas Action for Children, said the Legislature would have the final say on whether Kansas children and their families got better services.
The Legislature has started down that road. During the 1992 session, it passed 11 bills dealing with child welfare, including a bill that required the state budget office to prepare a listing of all money the state spends on its children.
"Just throwing money out there is not a service for people." Hardman said.
The 11 bills were part of "A Blueprint for Kansas Children and Families," a plan put together by legislators to help Kansas address the problems it faces. Goals for the program include doubling the number of programs that work to keep families together by 1994 and extending other family-preservation programs by 1997.
SRS plans to reduce the number of children placed in foster care by 25 percent within three years. Petr said that goal might be too ambitious because foster-care placements had increased in recent years.
But the goals are set. The next step is getting the money to put the programs in place. Hardman said.
"The clock is ticking, and time is limited."
High SRS turnover leads to instability for county children
Continued from Page 1.
Bobby has had a therapist at Bort Nash Mental Health Center, a therapist at KU, two more at Marillac and three different SRS workers in the four years he has been in custody. That is not unusual. In fact, Jean Sheppard, a Douglas County District Court judge in juvenile court, considers herself the most consistent presence in the lives of many of the system's children. And she only sees them twice a year.
SRS turnover is one reason for the lack of permanence. Robert Byers, head of the SRS Child Protective Service, said foster care workers experienced high rates of burnout primarily because of a caseload that increases at the rate of 40 new cases a month.
at Bobby's journey through the system seems arduous, consider lane's slight.
Jane was removed from her home because she had been physically abused by her father, according to a lawsuit filed against SRS by the American Civil Liberties Union.
She was placed in a foster home in Shawnee County.
Jane remained in the foster home for six months before SR3 discovered she was being sexually abuse by the foster father, who was known to have molested other children
Although cases of abuse in foster homes have been rare in Douglas County, the problem does exist, Sheppard said.
Byers said his office received complaints of abuse in foster homes about once or twice a year.
Faced with pressure from within SRS and the ACLU lawsuit, the Kansas Legislature is in the process of overhauling the foster-care system.
During the 1992 session, the Legislature passed 11 bills dealing with child welfare. The bills were part of "A Blueprint for Kansas Children and Families," which provided for staff increases and additional funding that would make it possible for workers to serve families at their homes rather than removing the children.
Alaquest said he believed the legislative changes — concentrating more on family, removing a child only if the home is unsafe, developing more child care facilities and improving the quality of the child-care system.
But the question looms: Can the system, even with changes in place, help children like Bobby?
"Some kids stay in the system forever because they can't cope, and most of them are intensely angry," said Stephanie Milby at Marillar. "He's the best kid here, but if he stayed too long here he would leave with more severe problems."
The Kellners miss Bobby.
"We love him," Marge Kellner said, "and we want him to come home."
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