With a special grand jury recommending the hiring of more CPS workers in the wake of the Thomas Valva tragedy, Suffolk has stepped up its recruitment efforts.
“I’ve met with the dean of Social Work at Stony Brook University and her staff to talk about ways to recruit their graduates from either the undergraduate or the graduate program to come to work for Suffolk,” reported County Executive Edward Romaine. “We had some of the civil service requirements waived, so they only have to meet the minimum requirements,” Romaine said, pointing out that the CPS positions start at about $60,000.
According to the County Executive, the state provides training for Child Protective Service employees, as well as the county. “We provide training, not only for the new members of the staff but the older members as well, to make sure they have all of the tools they need to do their job. More training never hurts in that profession.”
Romaine met with the CPS staff after taking office in January and again after the report from the grand jury seated by District Attorney Raymond Tierney was released. While Romaine stressed the need for accountability among all county workers, the CPS employees expressed concern over being held up as scapegoats in the Valva case.
“I will recruit new people and backfill the open positions, something my predecessor didn’t do,” Romaine said of former County Executive Steven Bellone.