OMAHA- Nebraska ended a contract for managing Omaha-area child welfare cases over the Kansas-based contractor’s continuing failure to meet state caseload limits, among other problems.

Unfortunately, the situation has worsened in Douglas and Sarpy counties, according to state records and reports from current and former workers.

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services figures show that barely one in three Omaha-area child welfare workers handling ongoing cases in September had caseloads at or below the limits set in state law, while more than 80% of those in most other areas of the state complied with the limits.

The state limit for the number of cases a worker may have at one time is 17. The state average at the moment is 30 cases per person with highs of 38-39.

“We are 100 times worse than a year ago,” claimed one veteran child welfare worker. Two workers who quit in recent months said rising caseloads are adding to the pressures of an already stressful job and forcing case managers to work more overtime.

Overtime has shot up 90% since taking over the cases. For September, overtime costs equaled 7.4% of salary costs in the area.

High caseloads can mean children and parents don’t get seen, services don’t get arranged, court reports don’t get written well and more.

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