The Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS) has closed the corrective action plan it initiated with Patrick County DSS in May 2023. The update was shared during the Patrick County Board of Supervisors meeting on January 13.
Carl Ayers, Virginia DSS Deputy Commissioner of Human Services, explained that the plan was implemented to address critical concerns, including delays in responding to child abuse and neglect complaints, insufficient in-home services, and issues surrounding permanency planning.
“We did that back in May, and during that time specifically, there were concerns about Child Protective Services (CPS) around the timely response to abuse and neglect complaints that were coming in, around the in-home services that were being offered, around permanency, and a number of different items, and certainly around resource,” Ayers said.
Throughout the corrective action process, DSS regional staff engaged with the county on a near-weekly basis, providing technical assistance and conducting strategic planning.
“They have primarily come down here to discuss work we’ve been doing, including a ton of in-person technical assistance, doing team meetings that we do with leadership on a monthly basis, (and) doing data support,” Ayers said.
By the end of December, the state determined the local DSS had made enough progress to close the corrective action plan. However, Ayers noted lingering concerns that require attention.
Ayers highlighted Patrick County DSS’s reliance on outstation workers — emergency personnel sourced from outside the area — which he said undermines stability and increases costs.
“Whenever you’re using emergency workers, it doesn’t bring stability at all; it also costs you additional money. So, it’s much higher to use outstation workers than to invest in those inside the county,” Ayers said.
Staffing ratios also remain problematic. Ayers noted that a foster care worker in Patrick County currently manages an average caseload of 45 children, far exceeding the recommended ratio of 15:1 in the public sector.
“There’s been times over the year that DSS has had no staff in its foster care unit,” he added.
The strained staffing levels have led to other compliance issues, particularly with resource homes. Ayers explained that the county has been funding resource homes using local-only money, missing opportunities to match those funds with state and federal dollars.
“What I will tell you is the amount of money that you have spent in local-only payments is (significant). If you funded the staff to do the work, you would actually come out financially better off,” Ayers said.
Jonathan Wood, chairman of the board and representative of the Peters Creek District, sought clarity on the financial implications.
“So, we’re spending lots of extra money that we shouldn’t be because we’re basically doing some paperwork wrong and we’re not getting money from the state or feds. Is that correct?” Wood asked.
Ayers confirmed and emphasized the need for local investment in staffing to resolve the issue.
“We have helped you solve that problem, but we cannot staff your agency going forward. That’s where we are turning to you,” Ayers said.
Wood asked if the department had unfilled positions or simply lacked adequate roles. Ayers responded that while positions had gone unfilled, the current staffing configuration is insufficient to meet compliance requirements.
“You need two additional positions within that to bring that caseload down to the maximum, which is 15:1,” Ayers said.
Steve Marshall, Blue Ridge District supervisor, suggested hiring three employees to further reduce the caseload and take on additional administrative responsibilities, which would help address recordkeeping issues under the Child Services Act (CSA).
“We should really strive for three employees and bring that down to low 15. If I’m not mistaken an extra employee could also take on other administrative duties which would take care of some of the recordkeeping that has to go over the CSA (Child Services Act) for things to be paid there on time. Just a thought,” Marshall said.
Marshall also pointed out that the state would cover more than 80 percent of the costs for these additional positions.
“The problem is when we don’t have the paperwork done, we end up paying 100 percent,” Marshall said.
Ayers encouraged the board to plan for these changes in the upcoming fiscal year to ensure continued progress and financial stability for the department.
