Present law requires the department of children's services to: (1) Maintain staffing levels of case managers so that each region has enough case managers to allow caseloads not to exceed an average of: (A) 20 active cases relating to initial assessments, including investigations of an allegation of child abuse or neglect; or (B) 20 children monitored and supervised in active cases relating to ongoing services; and (2) Comply with the maximum caseload ratios described above. This bill revises (1) above to require that caseloads "be at not more than" instead of "not exceed an average of" the numbers in (1)(A) and (B). This bill adds a requirement for the department to maintain staffing levels of foster care case managers so that each region has enough case managers to allow caseloads to be at not more than 10 active cases relating to initial assessments, including investigations of an allegation of child abuse or neglect, and requires the department to comply with this maximum caseload ratio.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 53-1-103(a), 53-1-103, 53-1-102