bigrus

Child and Youth caseworkers are needed; Wayne County offers $5K bonus

Harry October 29, 2024

The lack of sufficient caseworkers at Wayne County Children and Youth Services (CYS) has escalated to the point where the state is offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new hires.

Wayne County commissioners adopted an interim policy Oct. 24 to address the high vacancy rate in both recruiting and continuing units at CYS. To be eligible for the bonus, the new employee must stay there for one year.

“In the Children and Youth department, we are supposed to have 10 people working in that department. Right now we only have two,” Commissioner James Shook said. “There’s supposed to be 10 on the running side, we only have three. We have a huge vacancy rate there.”

He said people currently working in these departments carry a greater burden because they cannot share it among other staff who are absent or unavailable.

“Sign-on bonuses are supposed to attract people to fill these positions,” Shook said. “Even though staff positions are decreasing, caseloads are not.”

Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer said the vacancy rate is not new and the county is trying different ways to recruit caseworkers.

“There are some incredible people doing incredible work for this community, but we’re not attracting the level of people we need…” Cramer said.

“This is a difficult position and stressful as well. We need to find the right person,” Shook said. Commissioner Chairman Brian Smith added that the state requires the county to fill these positions.

80 percent of the cost of the bonuses will be covered by the state. Shook noted that the funds the district will spend are in the current CYS budget because they have a surplus due to lack of personnel.

Applications can be made on the district’s website or received from the Human Resources Department at the courthouse. The district holds career presentations and hosts job fairs at local colleges and schools. However, at the last job fair, no one accepted CYS.

The website describes this position as, in part, conducting interviews to obtain information from clients and family members; provide information about agency programs; helping families create plans; manage caseload and maintain records; and providing supervised family services.

County Clerk Andrew Seder said there are more than 30 vacant positions in the Department of Human Services, of which CYS is a part.

CYS employee honored

At the same meeting, commissioners honored CYS employee Linda Huffman for her 20 years of service. Executive Director Janine Latsch praised Huffman for her “kindness, support, integrity and dedication to the work we do every day” and said she has “a smile that is incredibly calming on the hard days and can light up the room on the really good days.” Latsch said Huffman cares about CYS employees and takes on any project step by step.

“I felt lucky to be here. I love what I do, I love coming to work every day,” Huffman told commissioners. “I work with great people and Janine is amazing in her role – it’s a good team.”

For information about Wayne County CYS, visit: waynecountypa.gov/156/Children-Youth. To learn about job opportunities at CYS, call Paula Wehrmann at 570-253-4262 or visit the district’s website. CYS offices are located in the Park Street Complex.

Peter Becker has been with the Tri-County Independent or its previous publications since 1994. You can reach him at [email protected] or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.