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Multiple DCF employees urge reclassification to Group 2 retirement in House Bill 2928 testimony
Summary
Department of Children and Families employees and union leaders testified in support of House Bill 2928, which would extend Group 2 retirement status to additional DCF titles; witnesses described custodial transports, threats, and instances of violence as routine features of the job.
Deputies, social workers, chapter leaders and regional vice presidents representing the Department of Children and Families asked the Joint Committee on Public Service to report House Bill 2928 favorably, arguing the work of many DCF titles meets the Group 2 retirement standard of care, custody and instruction.
Multiple witnesses described transporting children for placements and appointments, frequently spending long hours in vehicles and sometimes waiting in hospitals or placements because no immediate placement is available. Ethel Everett, DCF chapter president, said staff sometimes transport children "for up to six hours in one day and then turning around doing that same transport the next day."
Testimony detailed incidents of threats and physical intimidation. Lee DeLuca, a foster-care reviewer, recounted a sustained pattern of threats to her safety after working on a child-abuse case and said she received threats at her home. Christian King, a regional vice president for SEIU Local 509, told the committee that DCF workers in Worcester had been beaten in recent incidents and urged the committee to recognize the work as public-safety safety-related and include all relevant titles.
Panelists urged that all field social workers, investigators, supervisors, case aids and critical support staff be included, noting that violence and risk do not reliably vary by job title. Several witnesses framed the request as both a fairness and a retention measure: reclassification, they said, would help reduce turnover and reflect the responsibilities staff shoulder.
Committee members did not take formal action on the bill during the hearing. The bill’s sponsor and witnesses said local approval may be necessary for some retirement requests in other bills discussed that day, and several panelists offered to provide additional local documentation as needed.
