Social workers for children and youth affairs are required; Wayne County offers $5K bonuses

The caseworker shortage at Wayne County Children and Youth Services (CYS) has gotten to the point where the county is offering new employees a $5,000 sign-up bonus.

Wayne County Commissioners adopted a temporary policy Oct. 24 to address the high vacancy rate in both new and existing CYS units. To be eligible for the bonus, the new employee must have worked there for a year.

“In the children and youth department, we should have 10 people working in that department. Right now we only have two,” Commissioner James Shook said. “As for the current side, there should be 10, we only have three. We have a very high percentage of vacant positions there.”

He said the people who currently work in those departments bear most of the workload because they can’t share it among other employees who are absent or unavailable.

“Sign-on bonuses should attract people to fill these positions,” Shook said. “Even though staff positions are being cut, the workload is not decreasing.”

Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer said the number of vacancies is not new and the county is trying different ways to hire caseworkers.

“There are incredible people doing incredible work for this community, but we’re not attracting the level of people that we need…,” Kramer said.

“This is a difficult and also tense position. We need to find the right person,” Shook said. Commissioner Chairman Brian Smith added that the state requires the county to fill those positions.

Eighty percent of the cost of the premiums will be reimbursed by the state. Shook noted that the funds the county will spend are included in CYS’s operating budget because they have a surplus due to staffing shortages.

Applications are available on the county website and can also be obtained from the Human Resources Office at the courthouse. The district hosts job presentations at local colleges and schools and hosts job fairs. However, there were no CYS takers at a recent job fair.

The website describes the position in part as conducting interviews to obtain information from clients and their families; providing information about agency programs; helping families make plans; load management and record keeping; and providing supervised family services.

County Clerk Andrew Ceder said there are more than 30 vacancies in the Department of Social Services, of which CYS is a part.

CYC employee awarded

At the same meeting, commissioners honored CYS employee Linda Huffman for 20 years of service. Executive Director Janine Lach praised Huffman for her “kindness, support, honesty and dedication to what we do every day” and said she has “a smile that is incredibly calming on hard days and can light up a room on really good days.” Lutch said Huffman cares about CYS employees and is comfortable taking on any project.

“I’m lucky to be here. I love what I do, I love coming to work every day,” Huffman told the commissioners. “I work with great people and Janine is absolutely amazing in her role; This is a good team.”

For information about Wayne County CYS, visit waynecountypa.gov/156/Children-Youth. For information about employment opportunities at CYS, call Paula Woermann at 570-253-4262 or visit the district website. CYS offices are located in the Park Street complex.

Peter Becker has worked for the Tri-County Independent and its predecessor publications since 1994. He can be reached at [email protected] or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.