Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993 TAG: 9309040272
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The group's formation came the morning after one of their co-workers was attacked by a man being questioned in his home as part of an elderly abuse case.
Corinne Gott, head of the city's Social Services Department, called a meeting Friday to hear employees' concerns about their work environment and suggestions about what the department could do to address those concerns.
The main concern was for self-protection, Gott said.
"We talked in terms of the kinds of risks that workers might run into and identified some sources of additional training," she said.
The task force of about 30 of the department's 50 employees will meet next week. Their recommendations will supplement training that already had been scheduled, including one session on health-related concerns, Gott said.
"We're going to have them decide what kind of training they want, to learn how to deal" with volatile situations, Gott said.
Situations of potential anger are a reality for department employees who work in the field, Gott said.
"The potential is there all the time," she said. "When you go out and remove people's children, you're putting yourself potentially in a situation of danger. I'm not trying to be an alarmist. I'm just saying that it is part of the job."
Discussion of whether investigators should make field visits in pairs or by themselves is an old one that frequently resurfaces, Gott said. But with a heavy workload and a staff stretched to the limits, the department rarely can afford such a luxury, she said.
"It's a labor problem," she said.
The department has 70 or more new referrals per month in child abuse alone and five workers to handle them, Gott said. The department also has close to 100 requests for investigations each month and five workers who primarily work with those cases, she said. "That's a pretty heavy load," Gott said. "If we had pairs, we'd have to have 10 more workers."
The department bore the brunt of former President Reagan's "new federalism" plan of the early 1980s, which was designed to transfer billions of dollars' worth of programs to the state. The money never filtered down, resulting in a 25 percent budget cut for the department, Gott said.
Nine department positions were eliminated then, she said. The department never has recouped its losses, she said.
Gott also recognizes that working in pairs is not a guarantee of safety.
The employee who was attacked Thursday - Marty P. Harmon, a social services investigator - was with another social services employee when the incident occurred. The employee, a social worker, was able to run for help when she saw Harmon being attacked.
"If someone is going to attack you unprovoked, I don't know what you would be able to do to protect yourself," Gott said. "It was a lot of help to have someone else there, but it didn't prevent the attack."
Harmon was attacked after a man she was questioning, Lloyd A. Dudding, became agitated, Gott said earlier. A handful of Harmon's hair was yanked out, and her nose was bloodied.
Initial charges of assault and battery If someone is going to attack you unprovoked, I don't know what you would be able to do to protect yourself. Corinne Gott Head of Roanoke's Social Services Department against Dudding have been elevated to malicious wounding.
Some of Harmon's co-workers spoke with her Friday, Gott said. Harmon "was doing fine, but emotionally she was still upset," Gott said.
Judy Brown, supervisor of Child Protective Services, said safety concerns are a problem for anyone working with the public.
"There has always been the concern that any time you have to work with the public, you never know what you might run into," Brown said. "You never know what kind of reaction you'll have."
by CNB