Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announced on Monday progress in reforms to the Department of Children and Families, according to a Monday press release.
Baker explained in the release that even though progress has been made, the administration will continue to work to improve policies.
“Last fall we pledged, with union leadership, to better support our social workers who are on the front lines every day and reform a broken system of policies,” Baker said in the release. “Today, while we still have more work to do to improve how the Commonwealth cares for the most vulnerable children, the Department of Children and Families is making robust strides in their mission to keep kids safe.”
According to the release, five major policies have been implemented through the partnership between the Baker-Polito Administration and the DCF. The release also stated that the administration has arranged to provide $938.2 million to DCF in Fiscal Year 2017, which is $30.5 million more than in Fiscal Year 2016.
DCF Commissioner Linda Spears expressed gratitude for the progress and development the DCF has experienced as a result of these reforms.
“We are appreciative of the positive working relationships we have maintained with union officials throughout this process,” Spears said in the release. “Most of all, we are grateful to our workers for their efforts to accept and move forward with reforms. Our agency is more equipped than we have ever been to protect those who need us most — children.”
Along with an increased budget, the Baker-Polito Administration has increased the number of hires in the department, according to the release.
“There has also been targeted outreach to recruit and hire frontline staff, with a record of new hires resulting in a net increase of 170 full-time employees (FTEs) since the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2016,” the release stated. “… Since September, 332 positions have been posted and 201 staff have started or will start in the next few weeks.”
Mary Collins, associate dean for academic affairs at Boston University’s School of Social Work, said she was glad to see such progressive steps taken by the governor.
“There have been a lot of tragedies in Massachusetts,” Collins said. “I’m glad to see that the governor and the city are doing some things to help improve the child welfare system.”
Collins said she is most concerned about the services that will actually be provided.
“I haven’t heard a lot from the governor about that in terms of once the families become involved in the child welfare system,” Collins said. “How are we helping them to be stronger families, and are they getting the right kind of support, like housing and access to substance abuse treatment?”
Collins also emphasized the importance of hiring qualified social workers to work on cases and providing on-the-job training for those workers.
“We think it’s appropriate to have a master’s degree in social work and then once you go into the job, there is often substantial on-the-job training so that you are trained for that particular job,” Collins said. “And then there’s also required advanced training for specific areas, so specific topical things that may come up that you wouldn’t get in more broad-based training.”
Several Boston residents had mixed opinions about the reforms.
Anne Shepherd, 61, of Beacon Hill, said she wants the administration to do even more to overhaul DCF programs.
“I don’t think that [Baker]’s gone far enough to overhaul the system, which, in my opinion, needs a complete overhaul,” she said. “I think that they need a lot more people involved in making the decisions.”
Paul Campbell, 28, of Back Bay, was concerned with funding for the new DCF programs.
“Definitely, it’s important for the city to fund it, but it’s a question of how much tax revenue they have to fund things,” he said. “But if there was extra funding available, I would definitely want it to go towards programs like that.”
Rebekah Montgomery, 34, of Beacon Hill, said she wants residents to be more informed about the reforms.
“I didn’t know that they were reforming [the DCF],” she said. “I think it would be great to be more informed about it.”
