More staff needed to respond to child abuse reports
The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says it needs fifty more officers to effectively respond to the volume of cases being placed in the system.
Stacy-Ann Hewitt-Lindsay, Investigations Manager at the Agency, is arguing that the staff shortage has the potential to significantly lengthen the time it takes to attend to serious cases.
This follows a Gleaner newspaper report indicating a 20 per cent increase in the number of abuse cases being reported to CPFSA investigators.
The report stated that there were almost 13,000 cases reported to the agency during the period January to September this year.
Mrs. Hewitt-Lindsay, speaking Monday on RJR’s Beyond the Headlines, said the agency had to implement special measures to make up for the shortfall, but she cautioned that “over time it will take a toll on the officers.”
13000 cases is nine months in quite large. So is what cause the staff shortage, lack of qualified personnel, brain drain, or workers just burning out and quitting after a while?