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Union Takes Advantage Of Tragedy

On the one hand, I’m glad that the union is exerting pressure on this tragedy.  On the other hand, they are pushing for the wrong remedy. 

Calling the Milwaukee Bureau of Child Welfare “a dysfunctional environment” that hobbles workers’ efforts to help children in crisis, state employees union officials today asked lawmakers to meet and discuss issues raised by the beating death of 13-month-old Christopher Thomas.

“We are writing today to ask for an opportunity to share with you our concerns about the dysfunctional environment that has existed at the bureau for a long time,” Marty Bell, the union’s executive director, and Susan McMurray, a lobbyist, wrote in a letter to the Milwaukee delegation to the Wisconsin legislature.

The letter ticked off a list of concerns—a shortage of social workers, high staff turnover, lack of support, insufficient training, inadequate oversight, lack of coordination between the Milwaukee bureau and private child welfare agencies – “all of which make it extremely difficult for social workers to provide the vital child protection services the workers were hired to provide.”

Christopher’s death could have been prevented if the bureaucrats on staff DID THEIR JOB.  We don’t need more social workers or training or whatever.  We need government bureaucrats to take their jobs seriously.

Posted by Owen at 2210 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

1. Um… do I REALLY need to make any kind of comment?

   I’ve seen social workers that were incredible: going above and beyond, every time. I’ve also seen workers (at all levels) that didn’t have the sense to pour pee out of a boot with instructions on the heel.

   There IS some revamping that needs to be done. It MIGHT include hiring more case workers. But the system IS broken, and just kinda hobbling along…

   Posted by Strings on December 10, 2008 at 2321 hrs
   
   
   

2. Owen-

   Do you even have a frickin’ clue what the hell you’re talking about?

   That has to be the most ignorant thing I’ve ever seen on this site, and that is saying a lot!  Think before you type.

   You have no clue what the system is like, what your precious idiots like Walker and Darling and TOMMY did to the system to cover their asses and try to preserve their sweetheart deals with groups like the road builders, etc.

   Posted by capper on December 10, 2008 at 2344 hrs
   
   
   

3. Capper,
   The argument is a red herring and you fell for it.  It does not matter how broken the system is.  They had a worker in the house with the children shortly before the death and they did nothing, according to the reports.  How broken of a system would it have to be for you to ignore a child that is being burned and beaten?  I sure hope you are not a social worker.
   Tad

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 0700 hrs
   
   
   

4. Tad-

   Not only am I a social worker, I had worked for a while in the Milwaukee County child welfare system.  I still keep in touch with people that work for them.

   The worker didn’t do his or her job, that is without a doubt.  But the odds are is that he or she did a very short, cursory visit due to the high case loads.  This has been the issue for over 15 years.  Three independent audits done in the mid 90s all showed that the biggest problem was insufficient funding and too high of a case load.

   Instead of doing the right thing then, the powers that were, including Tommy Thompson, Alberta Darling, Scott Walker, Margaret Farrow and others slipped in a line to take over Milwaukee’s system in the 1996 budget.  Since then, the money poured into the system increased by tens of millions of dollars, but the number of workers, foster homes and services dropped.

   So where did that money go?  To a faulty computer program that was supposed to streamline the system, to all the different administrations of all the private agencies, and to cronies that were peddling their own paradigms that have proven to be ineffective and insufficient.

   People to need to really look behind the curtain before passing judgment on what they don’t know.

   Posted by capper on December 11, 2008 at 0830 hrs
   
   
   

5. The was a state audit of the Milwaukee Bureau of Child Welfare a couple years ago.  It came to the conclusion that the high case loads for case workers led to an insufficient amount of time spent on each child.  The solution is to hire more workers to handle the huge workload.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1200 hrs
   
   
   

6. Capper - You point out several reasons why I will never suppport a government run system of health care.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1516 hrs
   
   
   

7. “We are writing today to ask for an opportunity to share with you our concerns about the dysfunctional environment that has existed at the bureau for a long time,”

   If true, why did it take a childs’ death to bring the Union out to address this?

   And capper:  Feel free to make all the excuses you want here.  Blame everyone you feel like.  Fact is, the system is poorly run, no one is accountable and child is dead.  Excuse that.

   Posted by Steve on December 11, 2008 at 1903 hrs
   
   
   

8. Steve,

   You assume this is the first time the union is adressing it. On what do you base your assumption?

   I’d like to hear your alternatives or solutions.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 11, 2008 at 1944 hrs
   
   
   

9. Considering how “in the pocket of the governor” Unions are in this state, one would expect something to be done long before this.

   Alternatives/solutions?  How about if we start holding governmental employees accountable for their actions?  That’d be a great start.

   “Oh, I guess there’s nothing we can do.  It’s just a black child.  It doesn’t matter.”  Is that the point here?  I’m as MF’n tired of excuses from white liberals as I can be.  Stand up, grow a freaking pair and hold someone accountable.

   Am I clear on this?  Ya know, I wrote the governor, my State Senator and Representative about this.  I heard from everyone but the Governor.  If he gave a s**t, he’d send a note back, but he doesn’t.  All he cares about is making sure those campaign checks keep coming from the Unions.  What crock.  I’ve had it.

   Posted by Steve on December 11, 2008 at 2007 hrs
   
   
   

10. We were actually trying to get a bill passed that would allow worker to be held liable if their actions were proved detrimental to a child’s welfare (such as leaving them in a bad situation). Got nowhere with it…

    Posted by Strings on December 11, 2008 at 2012 hrs
    
    
    

11. Steve-

    There is no excuse.  And there have been ten deaths in the last eighteen months.  That is unheard of.

    But unlike you, I won’t settle for a token scapegoat.  I want the people that created this monstrosity, or failed to correct for years.

    Posted by capper on December 12, 2008 at 0142 hrs
    
    
    

12. Steve-
    #7

    Fact is, the system is poorly run, no one is accountable and child is dead.

    These are words perfectly consistent with capper’s previous post, only he’s indicated more deaths in the last 18 months.  Why do you insist on blaming only the little guys?  Is it because you want to protect the real crooks? Those who’ve hobbled the system.  Blame your government worker, nobody here is claiming we shouldn’t.  Then let’s fix the system. Why did you bring the race of the child into it?

    Posted by Mike on December 12, 2008 at 1017 hrs
    
    
    

13. Wait…Owen,
    How is this story warrant the headline/label “Union Takes Advantage of Tragedy”? Without explanation, it comes of as an incredibly inflammatory thing to say. Please explain.

    Posted by Mike on December 12, 2008 at 1324 hrs
    
    
    

14. Owen has a potent (if somewhat irrational to me anyway) hatred of all things union. If there’s a union member within miles of anything bad or untoward or even unfortunate or unlucky, well, it’s obviously the union’s fault.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 12, 2008 at 1346 hrs
    
    
    

15. Steve said:
    
    Considering how “in the pocket of the governor” Unions are in this state, one would expect something to be done long before this.

    Alternatives/solutions?  How about if we start holding governmental employees accountable for their actions?  That’d be a great start.

    “Oh, I guess there’s nothing we can do.  It’s just a black child.  It doesn’t matter.” Is that the point here?  I’m as MF’n tired of excuses from white liberals as I can be.  Stand up, grow a freaking pair and hold someone accountable.

    Am I clear on this?  Ya know, I wrote the governor, my State Senator and Representative about this.  I heard from everyone but the Governor.  If he gave a s**t, he’d send a note back, but he doesn’t.  All he cares about is making sure those campaign checks keep coming from the Unions.  What crock.  I’ve had it.

    It was a private agency cutting corners, again.  I wonder if Steve will now apologize and demand that the assholes that privatized the system be held responsible?  Or is he just full of BS like the rest of the squawk show zombies.

    Posted by capper on December 13, 2008 at 0203 hrs
    
    
    

16. My point is, and always has been that those who are responsible should be held accountable.  It appears that is in motion.  I’m not willing to assume the event occurred because the system was (in part) privatized.  I stand by my comments regarding the public employees unions and the governor. 

    Why the hate cap?  Hit a nerve?  Feel free to jump on me.  Unlike you, I can take it.

    Posted by Steve on December 13, 2008 at 0938 hrs
    
    
    

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