CHILD protection caseworkers paralysed by mounting paperwork, chronic under staffing and burnout will take a stand against a system they say is broken and puts vulnerable children at risk.
Staff will protest outside Edgeworth's Community Services Centre (CSC) today, after management announced the site is facing closure despite the growing number of children who need help.
Public Service Association (PSA) delegate Nin Bennett formerly worked as an early childhood educator, and became a caseworker two years ago in the hope she could make a difference.
"The reality of life on the casework side is very different to what I thought it would be," she said.
Ms Bennett said she spends 80 per cent of her time doing administrative work, spending just one hour every fix or six weeks with each individual child in out-of-home care.
"When you look at it realistically, that is dismal," she said.
"One hour doesn't allow you to get a full picture or build meaningful relationships with a child you've never met before and you're time constricted.
"It shatters me to know I'm not making the difference that I actually have the potential to make, and that is all due to time constraints and caseload."
If the Edgeworth CSC is closed, Ms Bennett said the local community will suffer, particularly vulnerable people, carers and families.
She said rather than just decommissioning the Edgeworth CSC, which could occur later this year, staff have put forward a request to have another local office opened in its place.
It's understood DCJ has started consulting with the staff about the building, with the lease due to expire in September.
As part of the protest, child protection caseworkers have demanded Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington and the state government immediately recruit another 500 caseworkers, give them an immediate and substantial pay rise and de-privatise foster care.
Ms Washington said last year, when the state government scrapped the "punitive wages cap" imposed by the former Coalition government, child protection workers gained their largest pay increase in more than a decade.
"We respect union members exercising their rights, and we are continuing to have productive conversations with the PSA.
"Child protection caseworkers are dedicated and passionate professionals who have incredibly complex and challenging jobs, but for years they haven't felt appreciated.
"In the past year, I've met with hundreds of hardworking caseworkers and heard firsthand their frustration, exhaustion and fears for those they seek to support."
She said the state government is embarking on significant structural reform to "fix the broken child protection system".
"A critical element of our reform will involve the attraction and retention of caseworkers.
"We must ensure they feel supported while they do one of the most important jobs in the world - keeping children safe."
Last week child protection caseworkers declared the NSW child protection system is in crisis, and announced the start of an industrial campaign designed to force the NSW government to act to save thousands of at-risk kids from further harm.
Ms Bennett said the incomes of child protection caseworkers need to reflect their role as 'front line workers' maintaining safety and supporting vulnerable children.
"Children and young people should be at the forefront of everything we do in child protection," she said.
"The system has been recognised by Ms Washington as broken, and while ever our system remains broken, children are not at the forefront and that needs to change."
According to Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) data, there were 256 vacant full-time positions across the state from October to December, 2023.
The number of children identified as at risk of serious harm in that same period in the Central Coast and Hunter was 18,321, and of those just 17 per cent, or 3191 children, were seen.
The PSA says the actual daily vacancy rate in the Hunter and Central Coast is close to 20 per cent, due to long-term sick leave and workers compensation.
PSA assistant general secretary Troy Wright said Premier Chris Minns needs to intervene.
"The most vulnerable children in New South Wales are at risk of serious harm, or even worse, because child protection workers are chronically understaffed, exhausted and management just aren't listening to their concerns," he said.
"But the response to this crisis by the DCJ management is to close offices rather than increase resources.
"These child protection caseworkers are passionate about their work, and they want Novocastrians to know no urgent child protection responses will be impacted, and that skeleton staffing will be maintained at all times during this protest."
DCJ workforce data shows that in 22/23, attrition was highest for caseworkers in their first two years of employment, with 45 per cent of all caseworkers leaving within the first two years.
The Herald contacted DCJ for comment.
