Texas CPS Should Restore Education Requirements, Double-down on Hiring Social Work Majors, Dallas Group Says

AUSTIN — Child Protective Services should roll back a loosening of education requirements for new caseworkers and double-down on attracting job candidates who majored in social work in college and graduate school, a Dallas-based child advocacy group urged Monday.TexProtects also urged that CPS field supervisors oversee no more than five workers each. Virtually all of Texas' child welfare supervisors ride herd on six to eight caseworkers.And the nonprofit pleaded for the state to keep records from unsubstantiated cases of child maltreatment for longer periods. The records on families might very well become crucial to making wise calls about kids' safety in the future, it said.Improving CPS is a top priority for the Texas Legislature as it returns to work Tuesday for this year's session.Madeline McClure, founder and chief executive of TexProtects, also known as the Texas Association for the Protection of Children, said she hopes lawmakers will use her group's new report. It analyzes and makes recommendations about CPS' workforce.  Continue reading...