BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

CANTON -- A request from the social services commissioner to “abolish and create” a position led to a debate over the necessity of the position.

At the Monday night St. Lawrence County legislature finance committee meeting, DSS Commissioner Chris Rediehs asked the committee to approve filling several vacancies in his department. That included a senior caseworker in the children’s services unit.

Legislator Joseph Lightfoot, R-Ogdensburg, questioned the need and suggested perhaps the duties could be fulfilled by people already working in DSS.

"I won't be voting for any new positions here until we see what the governor's budget portends for St. Lawrence County,” Lightfoot said. He also felt there wasn’t enough explanation in Riedehs’ written justification.

Riedehs clarified that they are not creating a new position.

"One of the aspects of this we want to make sure you're aware of is this is not adding to the staff. It's changing the title and increasing the cost from the senior clerk of perhaps less than $3,000 or less of county cost to make sure we have adequate supervision,” he said.

The deputy DSS commissioner, Heather Wenzel, said their caseload has gone up and they need that supervisory position so they can get people adequately trained and quickly placed.

"I think the struggle we have with that is currently, our CPS supervisors are supervising 120 to 150 cases and six to eight caseworkers each,” Wenzel said.

She later added that she believes the move “will save us money in the end and will provide a better quality service to our families."

Legislator Rita Curran, R-Massena, said she believes there is more work going into tracking and supervising children who are under the auspices of DSS, and they are moved more frequently.

"Even with, say with 180 kids, it's more work with 180 kids than three or four years ago,” she said, later adding that she herself has foster parented in the past.

Wenzel said Curran is correct, which is consistent with statewide and national trends in the foster parent system.

"When you have a pool of foster parents, sometimes you don't have the perfect person,” Wenzel said. "It’s not ideal placement, but that's the placement that's available at the time.”

She also said they have to comply with regulations to keep siblings together, and they try to keep the children in their same school district, which can present further challenges.