Caseworker Responsibility For Child Deaths:
Participants were asked how responsible they believe a caseworker is for the death if the child is kept in the home and tragically dies as a result of continued abuse or neglect.
· The caseworker is responsible only if he (or she) had not done a thorough job of investigating the home.
· How long the caseworker had been involved with the family and what other circumstances were involved that, perhaps, the caseworker had no control over should be considered.
· There is no way to foretell an event like this. Caseworkers can’t read minds; they would need to be psychic.
· The system is more to blame than the individual caseworkers.
· Caseloads are too high and caseworkers are not paid enough, (although they did not know how much caseworkers are paid or how high caseloads are.)
· Poor agency management and high staff turnover can also lead to negative consequences for families.