Over the last year or so, state lawmakers have taken steps to improve the working conditions of caseworkers at the . Efforts were especially focused on and reducing the caseloads of Child Protective Services caseworkers. (Caseworkers with Adult Protective Services did not receive raises as their counterparts in CPS did.)
The agency is seeing once-high turnover rates , but one bill aimed at improving their safety wasn鈥檛 passed during the 2017 regular legislative session. That bill would have shielded their private information from the public 鈥� something that鈥檚 already done for other state employees like legislators, police officers, and prosecutors.I鈥檓 sitting next to Brandi Labelle in a rental car, the air-conditioning blasting. It鈥檚 towards the end of September when we meet, but of course this is Texas, and the temperature outside is scorching hot.
Labelle is an in-home worker with , or APS, which covers a lot of Central Texas. She鈥檚 housed out of the Temple office in Bell County.
I鈥檓 tagging along with her for the day.
鈥淯m, the first visit that we鈥檙e going out to is allegations of an elderly citizen being exploited by a family member,鈥� Labelle says.
If you haven鈥檛 heard of APS before, it鈥檚 a program run by the state鈥檚 Department of Family and Protective Services, or DFPS. Labelle describes it simply as being like for adults.
鈥淲e investigate allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation, of people who are either over the age of 65 or those that have a disability that substantially impairs their ability to provide self-care,鈥� she says.
But APS and CPS are different. One distinction: When Labelle works with APS clients, it鈥檚 voluntary. When families work with CPS, it鈥檚 not usually a choice. Either way, frontline workers from both programs are going into strangers鈥� houses every day.
鈥淲e鈥檙e walking up and knocking on someone鈥檚 door, identifying ourselves as being with a state agency and we have a badge on, but we don鈥檛 know what goes on behind those four doors,鈥� she says.
Labelle says DFPS has a lot of protocols and precautions in place to keep workers safe. First, she says the issue of safety was integrated into all eight weeks of the training she had when she joined APS.
As an in-home worker, she also always receives a detailed report about each of the homes she鈥檚 scheduled to enter throughout the day. That report includes details such as whether there are weapons or aggressive animals in the home.Labellealso has a shared calendar with her supervisor so that someone knows where she is at all times.Additionally, if she is ever concerned that a home-visit could be volatile, she can always bring a local law enforcement officer with her.
APS and CPS caseworkers also now have an app on their smartphones called 鈥淪afe Signal鈥� that allows them to quickly, and covertly alert the police if they鈥檙e in danger.
On top of all of this, Labelle used to be in the military and explains that experience makes her even more sensitive to her surroundings. For example, she never has her back to a door and makes sure there is never furniture between herself and a doorway.
Even though there are already a lot of safety precautions in place at DFPS, State Rep. Gene Wu wanted to get another measure in place. He hoped that shielding the private information of frontline workers from the public would help with that, too.
When Wu, a Houston Democrat, introduced his bill, HB 39, earlier this year, he specifically had CPS investigators in mind.
鈥淐aseworkers have had their plates checked on and then the parents who had their children removed will go harass them on Facebook, and go harass their families and cuss them out, and find them,鈥� Wu says. 鈥淎nd many caseworkers commented to me that it鈥檚 just a matter of time before you see the headline 鈥楥ase worker killed by angry parent.鈥欌��
While Labelle says she鈥檚 had an experience or two that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, she鈥檚 never felt like she was in real danger. She adds that she doesn鈥檛 know any other caseworkers who have really feared for their safety either or had to use the Safe Signal app.
鈥淏ut it can be scary,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou just have to be very aware of your surroundings. You have to pay attention in our state training we receive.鈥�
Part of that training is knowing how to de-escalate tense situations.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if this is the correct term but I call it verbal judo,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou just need to know how to talk to people.鈥�
I see this in action when Labelle is trying to figure out whether APS can work with Karen, who lives in Austin. We鈥檙e only using her first name because DFPS wants to protect her identity. Labelle sits down next to Karen on a staircase outside of her condo. Karen won鈥檛 let us inside because she says it needs to be cleaned up.
It鈥檚 the first time Labelle is meeting Karen and she has to cover a lot of sensitive issues 鈥� including whether or not Karen has access to a shower after her bathroom was damaged.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 your personal hygiene situation like? Is it where you鈥檇 like it to be?鈥� Labelle asks.
鈥淣o, I鈥檇 like to be able to take a bath better,鈥� Karen says. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 have the shower curtain up or anything.鈥�
Labelle and Karen have good rapport, but it doesn鈥檛 always go that way.
鈥淵ou can be the best case worker, and you can have great verbal judo, and sometimes it鈥檚 just gonna happen,鈥� Labelle says.
In fact, DFPS told Texas Standard that there were 430 reported threats toward workers during Fiscal Year 2017. They added, 鈥淢anagers estimate that for each threat reported, two or three go unreported.鈥�
The agency also provided 23 anecdotes of worker threats and injuries that took place over the last three years, between 2014 and 2017. The people who shared each of these anecdotes are frontline workers for APS and CPS. DFPS only identified the people who shared these stories with a first initial 鈥� in this case 鈥淏鈥� and 鈥淎鈥� respectively. It鈥檚 not clear from the story if 鈥淏鈥� is a male or female caseworker. 鈥淎鈥�, however, is identified as a 鈥渉er.鈥�
Here is the story from Adult Protective Services worker 鈥淏.鈥�
鈥淚n Wichita Falls, B was deadbolted in by adult client and forced by hand on back of neck to look in all rooms and closets and take pictures of imaginary things. Finally the client bared her private parts and demanded B take pictures. B finally got close enough to the door to unlock it and escape.鈥�
Here is the story from Child Protective Services worker 鈥淎.鈥�
鈥淚n San Antonio, after a dad threatened to find where she lives and make her life miserable, A received several successive visits to her home at night by men posing as salesman, but without the items appropriate to their claims. SAPD believes they were probably associates of this father sent to intimidate her and put a watch on her home.鈥�
In this second case, it seems like Wu鈥檚 bill might have prevented the incident.
Still, there are a lot of ways to get caseworkers鈥� personal information.
, the Associate Commissioner for Child Protective Services actually got her start with DFPS as a caseworker in Dallas.
鈥淎 lot of our caseworkers live in small towns, work in small communities, where everybody knows everybody and knows what they do,鈥� Blackstone says.
Blackstone says safety is a big concern when it comes to caseworker retention.
鈥淥ne of the top three things is work environment and work conditions and so obviously safety goes straight to the heart of that,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I think it鈥檚 really important we provide people the training, the support, everything they need to feel safe to do the work that they do.鈥�
To help with that, State Rep. Wu plans to reintroduce legislation in 2019 that would shield the private information of APS and CPS workers.
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