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twawawayyy OP t1_j5zbnzg wrote

Reply to comment by rhymeasaurus in I worked at Manch DCYF. AMA by twawawayyy

I could write a book on this. But right now NH needs fresh ideas. The same people have been promoted up and up and up for decades. They all promote the status quo because it has furthered their careers and they don't want to piss each other off. They have an interest in maintaining things as they are.

Joe Ribsam was supposed to change the system, but he never brought in anyone new. So he just got absorbed into the existing power structure and never changed anything.

Workers need to be paid in a way that reflects their value and experience.

Foster parents need to be fairly reimbursed for their work, and they need adequate support from the agency.

Caseload standards have to be established so that workers aren't criminally overloaded.

It has to be recognized that different offices have different needs. Like, Berlin has to have lower caseloads because they have a huge catchment area and spend half a day driving just to see one kid. But Manchester workers get the most violent cases with the largest numbers of children and the most crimes against children. They need to somehow be supported. And their caseloads have to be reasonable so that they can put the attention and effort into ensuring the safety of the kids.

Staffing is far, far lower than it would need to be for our kids to be safe. And worker turnover is insane, leading to loss of knowledge, leading to kids feeling less safe, foster parents feeling unsupported, greater placement disruptions, and burnout on all sides.

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Psychological-Cry221 t1_j60g49h wrote

I’m the treasurer of a local area agency here in NH (mental health/development disability) and the issue of pay is a huge deal right now. I think that most state agencies that function with a volunteer board of directors do in fact try everything we can to get more money in our employees hands. However, part of the problem is that funding is usually in the form of contracts and reimbursement rates for Medicaid/Medicare that are not sufficient to pay people market rates for services rendered. Another huge issue from my perspective is that much of the government grant funds are not sustainable and are one-time in nature. We get asked by the state to start programs, build facilities, hire staff, etc. for initiatives that have no clear sustainable source of funding. It’s not efficient or fair to the people we would need to hire to staff the programs (assuming we could hire anyone).

Thank you for your service to the state, please know that it is appreciated.

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twawawayyy OP t1_j60gdss wrote

I'm in nonprofits now and watching the state make demands while giving no money no direction and now guidelines. It's absurd.

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