SCDSS: More Money, More Failure
PALMETTO STATE’S CHILD “WELFARE” AGENCY IN WORSE SHAPE THAN EVER Two months ago thYou must Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.
PALMETTO STATE’S CHILD “WELFARE” AGENCY IN WORSE SHAPE THAN EVER Two months ago thYou must Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.
20 comments
dss is so beyond fucked up it will take more than a generation of dedicated public officials to fix it, the voters want a quick fix and people who could do something positive know sc will not give them the time, so why bother
“SCDSS has been an unmitigated disaster since
governor Nikki Haley took office in 2011its inception in 1937″There, fixed it for you.
OK boss. What should be done?
I’m assuming you’re not being rhetorical…
Start with hiring a professional, not a politician, to manage the agency.
Case management and case workers are perennial problems for the agency even though they were authorized to hire additional case workers. They’ve failed to fill those positions and the positions thy have filled were (according to my source) filled with marginal employees. Part of the problem is they tend to hire people who would likely end up being clients of DSS otherwise. They have way to many “social work” majors and not nearly enough business, finance and accounting degrees. Case workers need a social degree of some sort – managers don’t, they need to understand how to budget and lead.
Their systems are also woefully inadequate to the task with outdated equipment and software being the rule rather than the exception. (The equipment issue is a state wide problem and in part is because of our rather antiquated procurement programs)
Set some realistic goals and measures for the agency. SCDSS is actually proud of a 30% overdue for hearing rate. They set Wildly Important Goals (WIGS) for child welfare, an apparently “humorous” attempt to stress the most important objectives for the agency vice setting near and long term goals that are clearly defined,specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time constrained like every other well run agency in the world.
Read through the 2013 annual report (the last year published) and see if this looks like a seriously run program to you: https://dss.sc.gov/content/library/statistics/APSR/files/a_SC_APSR_2013.pdf
No I wasn’t and I’m glad you replied. I agree with most of your points but will suggest a footnote. It’s hard to argue that the leadership/management should have more business skill, or at least business sense. But remember, we’re not talking about high finance here. We’re talking about adding and subtracting. They do understand budgets and budget constraints and goal setting and planning cycles. But, as in some many bureaucratic organizations, the Army included, knowledge and skills sometimes only go so far because so much is beyond your control. I know you can relate to the feeling of holding on while reducing your target to days or a few weeks at best. And, managers do need enough of a social work/social services background to understand the context and rules involved in what they are trying to accomplish. It’s not something you can get in a 2 week training program. Even back 30 years ago the turnover rate for case workers was very high; average tenure about 18 months, and not just because they were marginal employees. It’s extremely difficult work. Lots of dark humor, like “coming to work each day to find out what new name clients give you”. And, it’s not a trivial thing that workers have to go into homes with police escort. It’s not surprising that no one wants to do the work. That is not to diminish your comment one bit. They are in serious need of professionalizing their agency.
I think that “professionalism” is the thing that is most needed, hence my first point. My point about “finance and bidness” folks is that once you step out of case management, it is about budgets and management. Won’t disagree that the case management managers should be “social work” trained folks (with additional management / leadership training) I didn’t make that clear.
I have a couple of friends there now and “dark humor” is a highly accurate description of their work environment. Both carry all the time as a result of their experiences.
In DSS, you don’t get into ‘budgets’ until the county director level, or their financial subordinate/business manager. And, it’s not much like a real budget. Case worker supervisors and their totally unneeded supervisors, program coordinators, don’t mess with budgets.
If your friends are so scared they ‘carry all the time’, they don’t need to be working at DSS. You have to be more fearless than the average cop to work at DSS human services.
Per marginal employees, there used to be an actual Merit System and you had to pass a real test to get a job there and most state agencies.
40 years ago, DSS had a very diverse (I hate that word) workforce, so the test must not have been discriminatory. My first supervisor at DSS 41 years ago was black.
When the cabinet system came along, the test became just a scoring based on experience. Then, DSS, god help us all, started evaluating applications themselves.
It’s a shame that Katrina Shealy and Joel Lourie and every other legislator do not appear to understand that they replaced a merit based civil service system for pure cronyism when they embraced ‘reorganization’ and the current state of DSS is just one of the results.
“If your friends are so scared they ‘carry all the time’, they don’t need to be working at DSS You have to be more fearless than the average cop to work at DSS human services.”
You do recognize the irony in what you’ve said here?
One of my contentions is that the mid and upper level management lack the business acumen to efficiently and effectively lead the organization. And you’ve agreed with everything rise I said – I think.
Haley is responsible for the mid and upper level management. These are her “rock star”’s people or her new Director’s choices. All roads lead back to Haley. Dead and tortured kids lead right to Haley. We can do so much better but we need our governor’s leadership.
“Like”
Could this be where “I’m from the government and I’m here to help .” got started ????
No. That was called the Western Expansion. Then, who can forget all the help during Reconstruction? Then, another Top 10 oldie; Japanese internment camps. The hits just keep on coming.
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Alford’s got bad Koller deputies with little expereince. Get them out (Amber should go first) or progress will be impossible. Alford’s got to wonder how she herself ended up running DSS. She’s nice but…
Haley really needs to fix this before she can seriously be considered for Veep. The media will skewer her if she’s on the ticket.
Agree. Interviewed there in the last year. They had six candidates all of us sitting together in the same room and proceeded to have us all compete against one another for the same job asking us all a series of the same questions. This was a new progressive technique for them which was presented as a new leadership evaluation iniative of the agency. I was thinking maybe they should just get back to good old basic interviewing. That disaster agency trying to be progressive is like expecting a three month old to solve a calculus problem. Dumb ass deputies making shit up as they go. They need to tear it down and start over. And, I didn’t get selected, thank God. I might have actually had to consider taking the job as I was seeking work after a layoff at our plant.
All the money in the world could be poured into DSS but
until they are willing to clean house the problems will still exist.
Upper management does not want to know the problems in the counties and
some are afraid to speak out. The only way things will change is to
contact members of the DSS Oversight Committee whether by phone call, visits or letters. You can remain anonymous if you wish. Until the employees let our legislators know what is going on at the county levels nothing will change. If
employees want change they must take some time to make contact with those who
are trying to make a change. I urge every DSS employee – clerical, economic services, CPS, etc- to be proactive and the time to let the DSS Oversight
Committee members to know what really goes at the county level. Contact information is as follows:
Senator Katrina Shealy
502 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201
Business
Phone (803) 212-6108
Senator Joel Lourie
601 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201
Business Phone Phone:(803)212-6116
Senator Tom Young
506 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201
Business Phone (803) 212-6124
BE THE CHANGE!
I am a newly hired worker in Spartanburg. I was astonished on my arrival I had nothing available to me but an empty desk. I sat there with no computer, no phone, no pens, paper, nothing! After being led to my desk I was not given any work to do nor was I assigned to work with anyone. My supervisor introduced herself and told me that I would be helping other workers until I went to training. A couple of my cubicle neighbors introduced themselves and informed me where the bathroom and canteen was located as no one had told me! In the few weeks I have been employed there I have supervised a couple of visits for caseworkers who were busy with other cases and transported some children. Still much of the time I am sitting with nothing to do. I do realize I must attend training before getting a caseload but still, would you not think they could find something for me to do? I have been bored to death for 8 hours a day. No wonder DSS is in a complete mess. What in the world have I gotten myself in to? I am already looking for another J-O-B!
So, GOP don’t like abortion, but once these kids are born, it’s cheaper to neglect ’em. Or starve ’em, or rape ’em, or let ’em get beat, or Kill ’em, rather than pay for care. Poor kids got no Lobbiest. Nikki got no use for poorkids. Why spend money on DSS. They only look after poor kids and old people. Old people are easy to fuckwith too. You don’t thinkNikki got into this to do something good, do you, stupid? This is about Money. Her money. And she’s got to feed that no count, no work, husband of hers…
Is anyone surprised that DSS is still a mess? You have incompetent Deputy Directors (Hanak-Coulter and others) who have zero experience. The State Director moves them from one program to the other while children and adults suffer statewide. Governor Haley is a fucking idiot and should resign immediately. You have Regional Directors who haven’t a clue. Robert Brimmer is an adulterer and pervert who was fired from the Charleston Center. I would not let him near my dog, much less DSS workers or clients. He needs to be fired immediately. Anyone in Mt. Pleasant who votes for him (City Counsel) needs their head examined.
SCDSS continues to regress under Susan Alford’s leadership. She is staffing the agency with individuals who have NO child welfare or human services experience, such as newly appointed General Counsel Tony Catone. and Barbara Derrick She is putting “has beens” in key positions, people from Clemson, DJJ, and Continuum of Care, who have never been successful at the other organizations, but that she has a personal connection with and likes. John Shacklefore is an absolute joke! Communication within the management structure and leadership chain is basically non-existant, worse than ever. Hiring staff is more difficult than ever and takes longer than it did a year ago; Barbara has successfully reintroduced gridlock at DSS when it comes to hiring. Employees assume that the Gov put Susan in at DSS just to tread water until her term is over, not expecting any real progress or successes. DSS is at the height of disorganization and inefficiency. DSS is doling out money left and right to group home providers to entice them to keep juvenile delinquents, who should be housed in DJJ facilities and not in foster homes. Then again, Susan gained her fame when she shifted delinquent kids out of the realm of DJJ responsibility and landed them in the lap of DSS. Maybe she is not so incompetent after all! maybe she can figure out how to send them back to DJJ now.