The Senate voted to lower the workload for Division of Family Services caseworkers.

Senate votes to ease workload of Family Service workers

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Government

The Senate voted to lower the workload for Division of Family Services caseworkers.

The Senate voted to lower the workload for Division of Family Services caseworkers.

Case workers for the Division of Family Services could soon be getting a reduced workload.

The Delaware Senate voted Tuesday to approve a recommendation made by the Child Protection Accountability Commission to drop the number of families that case workers follow from 18 to 12.

Senate Bill 33, sponsored by Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, D-Arden, would act on the commission’s final report of Nov. 20, 2019. 

“It doesn’t take a large stretch of the imagination to understand that these workers are under stress and that they are trying to do their best for families,” Gay said. “Moving them towards a more standardized and target caseload of 12 cases is going to both help with retention as well outcomes for families who are going through the system.”

The bill passed unanimously with no discussion. It will now head to the House floor. 

“As someone who volunteers my legal time pro bono working with foster children, I could not do my work for these kids without the tremendous work that the caseworkers are doing for children and families,” Gay said. 

There is no fiscal note attached to the bill. 

If caseloads exceed 12 during any fiscal year for a single worker, the Office of Management and Budget must authorize the use of casual seasonal positions as a temporary way to ensure that caseloads remain within the confines of the law, according to the bill. It now  heads to the House.

Also in the Senate Tuesday:

  • Senate Bill 32, sponsored by Nicole Poore, D-Delaware City, adds blindness/visual impairment to the list of programs funded to run year-round. Nowm, the only children who qualify for the programs are those diagnosed with severe mental disability, trainable mental disability, autism, traumatic brain injury,  deaf-blindness or orthopedic disability, limited to cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, amputation, arthrogryposis, or contractures caused by fractures or burns. The bill now heads to the House.
  • Senate Concurrent Resolution 14, sponsored by Sen. Marie Pinkney, D-Bear, recognized today, March 14, as “Pi Day” in Delaware. Pinkney said it will bring more attention to the important subject of math. The resolution also passed the House Tuesday. 
  • Senate Concurrent Resolution 11, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, would recognize March 18, 2023, as National Public Defense Day. It also was passed by Senate and heads to Gov. John Carney for his signature.
  • House Concurrent Resolution 15, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Bolden, D-Wilmington, designates today, March 14, as “Equal Pay Day” in Delaware. Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Wilmington, said women are disproportionately paid and driven out of the workforce more than their male counterparts. The resolution now heads  to the governor.
  • House Concurrent Resolution 16, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton, would task the Department of Education with issuing a report that analyzes the benefits and disadvantages of virtual learning in a post-COVID learning environment. The bill does not state when a report is due. It also passed the Senate and now heads to Carney.

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