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DCF staff seek Group 2 retirement coverage for all social‑work titles
Summary
Multiple Department of Children and Families employees and SEIU representatives urged the committee to include all DCF roles in Group 2 retirement classification, saying field staff face transport duties, threats and physical danger in custody and placement work.
Employees of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and union representatives asked the Joint Committee on Public Service to support House Bill 2928 to extend Group 2 retirement classification to additional DCF roles.
Several speakers—including DCF social workers, chapter leaders and SEIU regional vice presidents—said the titles currently excluded nevertheless perform care, custody and transport duties that expose them to violence and other on‑the‑job risks. They said staff routinely transport children for placements and appointments, often spend hours in cars or in hospitals, and sometimes remain with children when there is no placement available.
Mary Anne Wallace, Metro regional vice president for SEIU Local 509’s DCF chapter, said members have been doing out‑of‑role tasks since the pandemic and that excluded titles have stood side‑by‑side with social workers in caring for children. Christian King, Central Region vice president, said DCF workers face burnout, secondary trauma and physical danger; he said a recent incident in Worcester involved workers beaten by dysregulated youth.
Ethel Everett, DCF chapter president and a family resource social worker, said staff have been physically restrained, pulled into locked apartments and otherwise threatened while doing field duties. Several witnesses urged the committee to ensure the bill covers investigators, supervisors, case aids and critical support staff in addition to frontline social workers.
Representatives of SEIU and DCF asked the committee to report H.2928 favorably and to ensure the bill’s language is inclusive of the range of DCF job titles that perform custody and transport duties. No formal committee action was recorded during the hearing.
