Number of cases rising at DSS

When is a rise in the number of cases at South Carolina’s Department of Social Services good news? When it reflects greater diligence on the part of the agency in identifying children who need help.

That essentially is what has happened since Susan Alford took over the troubled agency last year. Under a new system of evaluating reports of abuse to the DSS, the agency’s caseloads are skyrocketing.

The number of children in foster care in the state has climbed to 4,000 this year after dipping to nearly 3,000 two years ago. This is due in large part because of a new regional intake system that provides better screening for abuse reports to DSS than the old county-based system.

But the news is not entirely good. While DSS is placing more children into the system, it still lacks the personnel to handle the added cases.

Fifteen percent of the state’s 747 DSS caseworkers are seeing 50 children or more, which is more than double the recommended caseload of 24 children. One caseworker in Spartanburg County has 143 cases and a second sees 113 children.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the agency must deal with the influx of new cases after the staggering loss of 40 percent of its caseworkers last year.

Alford will gain 88 caseworkers this budget year, and she is asking for 177 more next year. About 40 caseworkers are in training and should be ready to work by May, which will help reduce the backload in the most seriously affected counties of Spartanburg, Richland and Lexington.

The agency’s problems occurred largely under the leadership of Lillian Koller, who resigned under pressure last summer after nearly four years with the agency. Koller had tried to deal with budget shortfalls in part by not fully investigating cases reported to the agency and by not hiring new caseworkers to replace those who left.

Alford, to her credit, disdains that approach and is confronting the need head-on. But for her to succeed, she needs the moral and financial support of the Legislature.

The number of cases can only grow in the near future. Only 16 of the state’s 46 counties have been shifted to the new hub system, and once they are on that system, cases can be expected to increase.

It is crucial that lawmakers provide the means to hire and train needed caseworkers and to recruit more foster parents. That might entail increasing stipends for volunteers who serve as foster parents.

It also should include efforts by lawmakers and Gov. Nikki Haley to highlight the changes that have occurred at the agency and support the efforts of foster parents around the state.

While Koller has taken much of the heat for the mess at DSS, the governor and Legislature also must bear some of the responsibility. As head of the agency, Koller, who reports directly to the governor, undoubtedly was under pressure to contain expenses and reduce caseloads.

She went too far. Nonetheless, the problems at DSS illustrate the false economy of disregarding the welfare of the state’s children to save money.

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Number of cases rising at DSS."