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Social worker tells Wabasha County board staff are stretched thin after 17 departures, urges support
Summary
Sarah Carrolls, a social worker and president of the bargaining unit for social services, said the department has lost 17 colleagues since 2023 and that mediation on the contract was postponed until Jan. 5; she urged the board for support and recognition of staff work.
At the public forum, Sarah Carrolls, a social worker who identified herself as president of the bargaining unit for social services, told the Wabasha County Board of Commissioners that her department has lost 17 colleagues since the current contract was set in 2023 and is operating under significant strain.
Carrolls described repeated situations in which law enforcement, public health, hospitals and schools call social-services staff when they need assistance, and said the department continued serving clients through a government shutdown and other disruptions. She said mediation requested by the county to settle the bargaining-unit contract has been postponed until Jan. 5.
“Even if the county does not fully recognize our value or our work … the people we serve, they see our value. So we will continue to show up,” Carrolls said.
Carrolls asked the board for support and respect for social-services staff and highlighted the human-service consequences of staffing losses and turnover.
Next steps: Carrolls said mediation is scheduled for Jan. 5; board members acknowledged the comment and thanked her for raising the concerns.
