Caseload up for social workers

ESCANABA - As unemployment continues to rise statewide, more people are turning to the state for assistance.

Russ Sexton, Michigan Department of Human Services supervisor for Delta County said while his department is dealing with more caseloads, they are not seeing the same animosity as downstate workers were seeing.

Department of Human Services workers downstate were reportedly being assaulted by clients who were becoming frustrated with long delays in dealing with their cases.

"Fortunately, here in Delta County, our clients are more understanding, and we are also not having to deal with long waiting lines for people to see a caseworker concerning services," said Sexton.

He said the clients are really good at inquiring about benefits rather than raging at caseworkers.

According to Sexton, a combination of high unemployment and economic turmoil led to a "perfect storm," as the state continues to battle a potential deficit for the 2010 fiscal year and more cuts to state budget are being forecast.

"The Department of Human Services, especially here in Delta County, has seen a 77 percent turnover rate in caseworkers over the past two years," said Sexton.

He said it typically takes a caseworker up to two years to learn the intricacies of the position to become proficient and learning a new computer system.

"If one detail is missed with the new computer system, then caseworkers sometimes have to go back 70 pages to seek that detail which was missed, which is time consuming," said Sexton.

Currently most of the need requests being handled by DHS caseworkers deal with emergency needs such as heating and housing assistance.

"I expect by January to see an additional 1,200 new requests for emergency assistance as unemployment benefits cease," said Sexton.

He said most of the caseworkers in Delta County are behind, with the unstable economy adding to the backlog of cases.

Sexton said his department is working to address the case backlog and is looking at being up to date on existing and new cases within the next few months.

"It may be eight months before people are receiving their benefits in a timely manner, but we are also looking at significant cuts to our budget in 2010," he said.

Sexton said the budget for 2011 could also see an additional 20 percent cut to all state budgets. That would add to the increase in backlogs leading to additional caseloads for DHS with fewer caseworkers to handle them.