DCFS reports steady caseloads, cites workforce shortages and service gains in quarterly review

Michelle Martin, deputy secretary of youth and families at the Arkansas Department of Human Services, told the joint Senate Committee on Children and Youth that the Department’s third‑quarter child welfare report included both second‑ and third‑quarter data and showed persistent workforce pressures alongside program improvements.

"In the third quarter, we received 9,220 reports," Martin said, describing how accepted reports are routed between the Arkansas State Police’s Crimes Against Children Division (CACD) and the Department of Human Services Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS). She pointed committee members to appendices with case specifics and said charts showed a combined substantiation rate around 22% (approximately 20% for DCFS and 30% for CACD on the materials presented). Martin told the committee neglect remains the leading substantiated maltreatment type, accounting for roughly 69% of substantiated investigations.

Martin said the agency had a combined priority response rate of 75% — the share of victims seen within statutory 24‑ or 72‑hour windows — and a 68% completion rate for investigations within the statutory 45‑day target. She noted two true findings for child fatalities in the quarter and described the department’s differential response approach as one that prioritizes family support and services for lower‑level (mostly neglect) reports.

On foster care and permanency, Martin reported a slight decline in the foster census to about 4,199 children in the quarter and said the department has increased discharges and focused on permanency work. She said 73% of children in care were placed with at least one sibling while 52% were placed with all siblings; the department reported a time from termination of parental rights to adoption down to about 12.7 months and described adoption availability figures in the materials.

Workforce and caseloads drew extended attention from committee members. Martin said the statewide average caseload remained about 24.5 and the agency continues to experience significant turnover. Director Tiffany Wright, DCFS director, described recruitment and retention measures including expanded social‑media outreach, promotion of staff achievements, on‑call standby pay, a career ladder incentive for workers who remain three years and a 10% pay increase for new staff after completing training.

When Representative Painter asked for current staffing counts, Martin provided a weekly summary from the agency: 1,423 total DCFS positions, 1,092 filled and 331 vacancies. Agency leaders said they would share the underlying weekly vacancy report and a summary of exit‑survey findings with the committee, subject to legal review of personally identifying details. Wright said exit surveys commonly cite on‑call demands, caseload size and safety concerns as leading reasons staff leave.

Several legislators pressed whether a hiring freeze limited frontline hiring and whether full staffing would materially reduce the foster census. Wright said the agency has been able to hire for frontline positions (program assistants, family service workers and supervisors) through approved hiring‑freeze requests and that experienced staff can move cases toward permanency faster, but DCFS could not provide a precise estimate of how many fewer children would be in care if the agency were fully staffed.

Martin and Wright offered to provide follow‑up data requested by the committee, including county‑level caseload maps, regional breakdowns and specific hiring and retention statistics.

The committee did not take action on policy during the DCFS presentation; members requested additional documentation and data for follow‑up.