Health Director: Cases Of “Founded” Neglect And Abuse Are On The Rise

JAMESTOWN-County social workers are getting burnt out and cases of “founded” child abuse and neglect have increased from last year, according to Chautauqua County Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler. 

“One of the largest drivers of our local share in our budget is related to child welfare,” she said. “Parental substance abuse is, absolutely overwhelmingly, the child welfare system.”

“Pay for case workers really is not commensurate  with the responsibilities that they have,” Schuyler said.

“Think about most first responders that have to go into sometimes life-threatening and emergency situations , and that’s definitely what child welfare workers are called to intervene in,”added Schuyler.

Schuyler provided a variety of statistics during an interview with WNYNewsNow Tuesday.