OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Nicole Kretz with Chautauqua County’s Child Protective Services says that CPS workers want to become 40-hour a week employees.

Nicole Kretz with Chautauqua County’s Child Protective Services says that CPS workers are being short-changed by being 35-hour a week employees.

Kretz appeared at the February county legislature meeting and noted that many CPS workers are overloaded with cases.

“New York state says a manageable caseload is about 15 cases per CPS worker. Many of our staff have caseloads in the high teens, even the 20s,” she said.

Kretz said she is labeled as a 35-hour a week employee and wants that to change.

“We’ve been asking for a 40-hour work week for over a year. It never seems to be something the budget can allow,” she said.

According to Kretz, even though many of the CPS staff are working 40 hours a week, they don’t get some of the benefits.

“We don’t get the accruals that go with it, so we’re not afforded the compensatory vacation or sick time that goes along with it,” she said.

In December, a number of CPS staff appeared at the legislature meeting, complaining about being short staffed or overworked with caseloads.

Because of this, Carmelo Hernandez, county social services and mental hygiene commissioner, and Jon Anderson, deputy director, recently appeared before the legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee to address some of the concerns by CPS employees. Hernandez said the two biggest concerns of the department are training and the shortage of workers.

Hernandez noted that he recently had three applicants decline a position with CPS because it was 35 hours a week and not 40. Hernandez said the training required is difficult as well.

“You’ve got to spend six months in Albany conducting training and then most of the training – I don’t want to call it fluff, but it is fluff – because they say ‘your county is going to tell you how it is,” he said.

Hernandez said currently, Dunkirk CPS employees are more seasoned, while Jamestown’s are much newer. He’s looking at a plan to incorporate some of the Dunkirk staff to help in Jamestown.

At the committee meeting, Hernandez said they had five staff openings, all in Jamestown, out of 38 positions countywide.

Hernandez said he would like to be able to propose a 40-hour a week schedule. If that happens, he said 62% of the funds would come from the state.

He believes the additional time is needed. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think 35 (hours) is enough. I don’t know if 40 is enough,” he said.

The 35 hour weeks are contractual, but Hernandez said they may be able to re-negotiate them and he’s trying to find money either in the department or from the state to cover the difference.

“We’re going to do our due diligence to be fiscally responsible to not make it a big burden and have it be a win-win,” he said.

Hernandez would also like to have training done closer but he doesn’t know how possible that is.

Anderson agreed.

“The state did invest quite a lot of money in a state training center in Albany. There was a hefty investment by the state in that project,” he said.

Anderson noted the six months of training required makes it difficult.

“If you’re a younger person and you have a family with young children, imagine committing yourself to traveling to Albany. … It’s a big lift for people,” he said.

Legislator Marty Proctor, R-Mina, thanked Hernandez and Anderson for their comments and offered his support in agreeing that training in Albany makes the job more difficult.