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Loudoun seeks multi‑year staffing for Family Services to expand domestic‑violence response and adult services
Summary
The Department of Family Services requested multiple new positions to reduce caseloads, expand customer service, create an adult and aging intake capacity, and launch a Domestic and Sexual Violence Services unit with a coordinated community response backed by data collection.
Ina Fernandez, director of Loudoun County’s Department of Family Services (DFS), told supervisors March 6 that the department has been “rightsizing, stabilizing, reorganizing and professionalizing,” and laid out FY 2026 staffing requests intended to reduce caseloads and expand services.
Fernandez said DFS has filled most FY25 positions and continues recruitment; the department’s FY26 priorities include: additional staff for public benefits and customer service to address a 52% increase in resident interactions over four years; a senior intake specialist and adult protective services ongoing specialist to handle a 72% rise in adult/aging intake calls since FY20; and the start of an eight‑position multi‑year Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS) unit to implement a coordinated community response (CCR) for domestic violence, human trafficking and stalking.
Fernandez said DFS customer service currently operates with six front‑facing positions and one supervisor across Leesburg and Sterling and that call capture rates have fallen to an average of 63% over three years — down to 49% last year — with average answer times above six minutes. She said the APS specialist averaged 22 cases per month in FY24, exceeding the National Adult Protective Services Association guideline of 15.7 cases per month.
On the DSVS proposal, Fernandez said the department expects to partner with local nonprofits and existing community organizations and that the CCR will be a governance structure to collect data across agencies and nonprofits, support coordinated decision‑making and reduce duplicative services. The FY26 request includes positions for a program administrator, operations supervisor, data reporting coordinator, family services supervisor, senior family services specialist focusing on human trafficking, and related roles to begin staffing a multi‑year CCR.
Supervisors asked how DFS would integrate county staff with nonprofit providers such as LAWS and Silence No More; Fernandez said the new positions are intended to augment — not replace — nonprofits and to centralize data and governance so local leaders can make coordinated decisions. Supervisor Glass asked about adult and aging service age thresholds; DFS said the unit typically serves those 50 and older, or adults 18+ with disabilities for specific services.
Fernandez said the new positions are part of a multi‑year plan to reduce caseloads methodically and to improve operational metrics; supervisors expressed broad support and urged continued coordination with community partners and clear data collection to measure prevalence and outcomes.
