Document text
49 °F 5 Day Forecast Saturday, November 29, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend November 11, 2003 Social workers worry about school-based cuts By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune If elementary counselors are eliminated from the Medford School District as planned, local child-welfare workers said Monday they’ll brace themselves for two grim scenarios. Responses to child endangerment calls could go up, one supervisor said. Or, worse, they could go down. "In any case, I think that it’s going to make our jobs much more difficult," said Karla Carlson, intake supervisor for the local branch of the state Department of Human Services child welfare department. Medford school officials last week released plans to cut the district’s seven child-development specialist positions in June. Advertisement The move would save nearly $600,000, part of a required $2.4 million in cuts needed to balance the district’s $79-million general fund. Principals, teachers, parents and specialists said the reductions would endanger children already at risk. On Monday, Carlson joined the chorus. She said she worried about losing the specialists that help link schools to social services. "One of my screeners said that, on average, he himself calls the child-development specialists 10 times a day to create critical safety plans for children," she said. Her office includes 3.5 full-time screeners, all with similar caseloads. Of the 800 calls they receive each month, about 120 become assigned cases, she said. With the loss of the seven positions in June, Carlson said she fears two scenarios. First, state social workers will be forced to respond to lower-concern calls now investigated by child-development specialists. Second, serious child abuse cases now detected by the specialists will go unreported. For example, Carlson said the agency now gets dozens, even hundreds of calls of concern each month. A neighbor might call to say she heard "loud thumping and crying" in a house where a school-age child lives. "We’ll call the CDS and say ‘Can you check in with this kid and see if they’re OK?’ " she said. Preventing an unnecessary visit from state workers protects a family’s privacy, she said. In the opposite scenario, child-development specialists are often the first workers to detect abuse, she said. Their close proximity to children in the schools and their master’s-level training allow them to intervene early. Medford schools Superintendent Dick Gregory said Monday that it’s doubtful the specialists positions can be preserved. Their posts are included on a list of virtually certain "Tier 1" cuts totaling $2.4 million released last week. Two more tiers of cuts totaling $9.2 million have been proposed should voters reverse a Legislative-passed tax surcharge in February. Included in second-tier cuts are $4.2 million in sweeping reductions such as 10 teaching positions, 13 elementary music positions and seven media specialists. Third-tier cuts of about $5 million would require negotiation with employee unions. They include pay cuts, revamped insurance options and reduced school days. "You could look at Tier 2, but if you look at Tier 2, you’ll have the same scream of anguish from the elementary music program," Gregory said. "At this particular point, it would depend on the revenue picture improving right now." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times