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Committee hears bill to separate child-removal and reunification roles in CPS
Summary
Sen. Dennis Lenz presented Senate Bill 206 to require a separation between child protection investigators who remove children and child reunification specialists who work to return them; the department supported rural exemptions and said training overlaps for both roles.
Senator Dennis Lenz (Senate District 25) told the House Human Services Committee on March 17 that Senate Bill 206 would define and separate the roles of child protection investigators and child reunification specialists so the worker who removes a child would not be the same person working to reunify that child with the family.
The bill’s sponsor said the measure includes an amendment intended to address staffing realities in rural areas so the separation would not be required where it is not feasible. "I want to further define that this line is if you had your child removed by a CPS worker, that then that wouldn't be the same CPS worker that is working on getting your child back," Lenz said.
Nikki Grossberg, division administrator for Child and Family Services, testified as an informational witness and said larger counties already often separate the two functions. She told the committee that initial training and certification are shared across investigative and reunification staff because workers must serve on-call duties, but that reunification staff may receive additional training on legal processes. Grossberg said the department can change workers if a conflict prevents effective family engagement, though she emphasized that changing workers is not the department’s first preference because continuity can help some families.
Committee members asked how the department supports family engagement when the same worker must perform both roles in smaller communities. Grossberg said the department trains workers in family engagement and that county attorneys can facilitate worker changes when necessary. The sponsor and members discussed the potential for future role-specific training to strengthen the two functions.
No formal action was taken on the bill during the hearing; Lenz said he would look for a House carrier.
The hearing record shows the bill text defines "child protection investigator" and "child reunification specialist" and places those definitions in the early sections of the draft bill. The committee closed the hearing after member questions and sponsor closing remarks.
