Commissioner: DCF workforce improving; telework suspended for many Economic Services jobs to reduce backlogs

Chris Winters, Commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, told the Human Services Committee the department has focused the past two years on workforce stability, safety and recruitment across divisions, and described both programmatic fixes for family services and a controversial removal of telework for many Economic Services Division positions.

Winters said DCF has been working to lower vacancies, increase retention and improve psychological safety, and he described several concrete changes in family services and in the high‑end system of care intended to reduce staff strain. "The DCF workforce carries out some of the most important and most difficult work in all of the state government," he told the committee.

Why this matters: Workforce policies directly affect service delivery to Vermonters and the safety and retention of staff who work with complex and sometimes dangerous client situations. Committee members asked whether short notice on telework changes, and inconsistent communication about expectations, harmed morale or violated labor agreements.

Family services: staffing, caseloads and system changes

Officials described multiple family services initiatives and outcomes:

- Vacancy and turnover: DCF reported about 17 current vacancies in Family Services (roughly a 10% in‑time vacancy rate) and said its goal is an 8% annual vacancy rate. Annual turnover was reported near 16% with a departmental goal of 13%; DCF said turnover among existing family service workers was reduced to about 6% for the fiscal year so far when new‑hire turnover was excluded.

- Reclassification: family service worker positions were reclassified from pay grade 24 to pay grade 25 late in 2024. Committee members were told the reclassification was the result of a class action supported by management and the union.

- Caseloads: DCF reported a substantial decline in children in custody (from prior highs to roughly 865 at the time of the hearing), noting that a full complement of staff would yield about 10 families per ongoing worker versus a working figure of about 13 with current vacancies. DCF cited the national child welfare vacancy and turnover context to underscore that Vermont’s rates compare favorably.

- High‑end system of care: Commissioner Winters and staff described steps to relieve emergency staffings that previously forced family service workers into short‑notice, potentially unsafe staffing locations. The department opened the Red Clover treatment program (4 secure crisis beds), expanded the Vermont Crisis Intervention Network bed in Brookfield, created a Child and Adolescent Transition Staffing (CATS) volunteer team, increased contract nursing support (TLC), recruited respite and resource coordinator roles, and reported staffings fell from 126 in 2023 to substantially fewer in 2024–25.

- Reporting and data: DCF has centralized incident reporting for restraint/seclusion to the specialized services unit and is improving performance evaluation and onboarding, including a pilot mentoring program and more consistent performance reviews.

Economic Services Division and telework

Deputy leaders and Erin Henderson, DCF workforce director, described the division’s decision process and operational results after suspending telework for many eligibility positions in November 2024. Committee members were told the change aimed to reduce federally constrained application processing delays and lengthy call wait times.

Key operational metrics presented by DCF officials:

- Application processing: Average processing for several programs (3Squares/FNS, Reach Up, fuel assistance) declined over the months leading up to and following changes; DCF reported an example 3Squares processing improvement from roughly 16.5 days (August) to about 10.5 days at the time of the hearing.

- Call wait times: DCF presented a fall‑to‑spring decline in average call wait times, from roughly 1 hour 52 minutes at a high point to approximately 15 minutes in April after a suite of actions that included: standing up a dedicated call center (Amazon Connect), moving some workload (general assistance housing) to an external vendor call line, clarifying staff roles (separating call center and district duties), and adjusting scheduling.

- Telework and staffing impacts: Telework was suspended with two weeks’ notice in November 2024 for many ESD roles; through the period compared to the prior year DCF reported no overall increase in turnover. DCF said 14 district staff resigned during the comparison period and 6 of these cited the telework change as a factor; DCF also reported that nine staff requested and received transfers into remote call‑center roles.

Committee concerns and labor relations

Committee members repeatedly asked about communication, consistency, and adherence to labor rules. Commissioner Winters and staff said they follow DHR policy and that telework is discretionary and revocable; they also noted ongoing engagement with the Vermont State Employees Association and labor‑management committees. Erin Henderson said DCF is sharing employee engagement results with staff and has reemphasized internal communication, mentoring, and wellness pilots.

What comes next

Officials said they will continue to track metrics, pursue automation and CCWIS modules where useful, roll out wellness and mentoring pilots, and provide division‑level survey data to the committee. Several legislators asked for more detailed, division‑by‑division employee engagement data and requested clearer documentation on telework decisions and reasonable‑accommodation handling.

Ending

Commissioner Winters told the committee that DCF will continue to balance telework flexibility with service delivery and federal compliance and that the department welcomes continued discussion with the committee and with unions on implementation and communications.