THE number of vacant child protection caseworker positions across NSW is continuing to grow in what the union has described as a "mass exodus" during a worsening crisis.
Up to one in four case workers are not at work on any given day, the Public Service Association says.
Of those, 210 workers, or nine per cent of the total workforce - are currently absent due to workers compensation claims.
The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) said as at June 30, 150 caseworkers were on workers compensation leave.
Another 233 positions, or 10 per cent of the total workforce, are vacant and being advertised, the union says.
An unknown number of workers are also absent due to long-term sick leave, which anecdotal evidence indicates is also very prevalent, the union says.
No one's home
In some towns like Coonamble, Walgett and Wilcannia, there are no child protection caseworkers at all, says the union following recent site visits to a host of officers throughout the state.
Of those who are at work, 45 per cent leave within the first 2 years, the PSA says, while DCJ says that number is one in four.
The Hunter Central Coast region is known to have high numbers of new staff, unable to manage a full caseload, which gives rise in part to the higher than NSW average of kids at risk of significant harm not being seen by a case worker - 82 per cent, the equal second worst region in the state.
DCJ confirms that 137 new caseworkers joined the Hunter Central Coast teams as at January, 2023.
Right now, the union says, if cases are allocated they are the most serious and will likely lead to removals, as there simply isn't enough staff to intervene early so as to keep children with their families.
Another issue affecting officers across the state is the sudden loss of workers from the after hours response team.
Out of a team of 19, nine are on workers compensation, the union said, and others have left, leaving just four members of staff.
So dire is their situation they have taken industrial action, taking a full day of strike action and passing a no-confidence motion in leadership.
Mass exodus
Public Service Association NSW General Secretary Stewart Little said the problem was now unsustainable by any measure.
"This is now a full scale exodus," Mr Little said.
"Burnt out and underpaid child protection workers are rushing for every exit and the poor caseworkers left behind cant see 80 per cent of identified at-risk kids.
"This is now a full-scale social disaster in NSW and it requires an emergency response from government. How many of these at-risk kids being ignored are getting hurt right now? How much childhood trauma is mounting in this state because we've ignored this problem and allowed it to fester?
"Because this misery happens in places most of us can ignore, we just turn a blind eye. Its morally unjustifiable.
Better pay, more workers
The solution was simple and was needed urgently, Mr Little said - an immediate pay rise and reduced workloads with the hiring of more staff.
"Child protection workers are degree-qualified professionals doing one of the very most important jobs we have. But the former government's wages cap has squeezed them out and the stress and trauma of their jobs are just impossible to bear for most.
"This is a legacy of the NSW Coalition governments wages cap which suppressed salaries for professional frontline workers for more than a decade, that's why the child protection sector is in crisis.
"Child protection services are already severely under-resourced, let alone when you start talking about more than 20 per cent of the workforce being missing."
Child protection caseworkers are demanding Minister Kate Washington and the Minns Government immediately recruit another 500 caseworkers, give caseworkers an immediate and substantial pay rise, and de-privatise foster care.
Unionised caseworkers are planning strike action on September 2.
'Safety and well being our priority'
The Minister for Families and Communities and Port Stephens MP Kate Washington said talks with the PSA were ongoing.
"The safety and wellbeing of children and families is our highest priority," Ms Washington said.
"We will continue to negotiate with caseworkers in good faith, as they do one of the most important jobs - caring for the state's most vulnerable children.
"When the NSW Labor Government scrapped the punitive wages cap imposed by the former coalition government, child protection caseworkers gained their largest pay increase in over a decade.
"But we know this is about much more than wages, it's also about ensuring caseworkers are supported to keep children safe.
"The NSW Labor Government is embarking on significant structural reform to fix the broken child protection system that we inherited.
"A critical element of our reform will involve the attraction and retention of caseworkers."
