Panel backs emergency hire to help division overwhelmed by at-risk youth

Ozaukee County’s Children and Families Division, which serves at risk children and their families, has become so overwhelmed that a county committee last week recommended that a new supervisor be hired immediately instead of waiting until next year.

“We hoped to wait for the (2023) budget process,” County Administrator Jason Dzwinel told members of the county Finance Committee. “It’s an unfortunate growth area in county government. These programs continue to expand.”

The Children and Families Division includes the Youth Justice, Child Protection Services, Children’s Long Term Support, Foster Care, Birth to Three, School Social Work Liaison and Family Support, and other programs.

The division is currently staffed by one manager, two supervisors and 27 employees.

The new supervisor position, which must still be approved by the full County Board, likely next week, would oversee the Youth Justice and Long Term Support programs, according to a memo submitted to the committee by Human Services Director Liza Drake.

A study by the Child Welfare League of America recommended a 1-to-5 supervisor-to-staff ratio, Drake said, while another suggested the county needs 3.5 supervisors for its current staff.

Since many of the programs the department oversees are crisis-driven and involve responses after normal work hours, department staff earlier this year requested that the on-call rotation be altered to prevent staff burnout.

That meant having one person on call instead of two.

“As a result, on-call management does get more calls than ever before,” Drake said. “Management is more actively involved after hours calling foster homes and contacting other counties. When called, management is processing through even more difficult scenarios than ever before.”

Drake said the need is likely to continue to grow.

In her memo to the committee, Drake said the number of children in the Long Term Support program has grown 450% since 2015, from 55 children 248, and become “much more complex” in the past five years.

“The youth and families involved in this program have several assessed needs, requiring services from multiple programs at once to be able to safely live in the community,” Drake wrote. 

Likewise, the Birth to Three program has grown 30% since 2018.

According to a 2021 report, 77.3% of youth in the state Out of Home Care program had documented disabilities.

“Youth needs have significantly increased,” Drake said.

The Youth Justice program, in an effort to prevent clients from entering the court system, serves 38% of its youth in voluntary services compared to the state average of 15% and offers counseling and other services to families.

Due to the increasing need, “time needs to be dedicated to supporting staff to ensure best practice models are followed and quality services are provided,” Drake said.

“Staff and supervisors have continued to describe ongoing exhaustion and burnout from the complexities of the job. If we do nothing, staff retention will diminish. There will also be less personal attention and quality of services for families.”

The new supervisor would be paid $66,395 in salary and benefits for the remainder of this year and $132,790 in 2023.

  Suprs. Paul Melotik, David Larson and Eric Stelter voted to recommend the new position. Supr. John Hagen abstained, saying he wasn’t in favor of growing the department at this time. Supr. Tom Winker was absent.