State finds low morale, lack of communication at social services

Low morale, inadequate staffing and a lack of communication were a few of the things uncovered by a recently completed quality management review of the Prince William County Department of Social Services.

Performed by the Virginia Department of Social Services, the review came on the heels of the death of Alexis “Lexie”Glover. The 13-year-old was found dead in a creek in Woodbridge this January and her adoptive mother, Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, is accused of killing her.

There were multiple reports submitted to the county that Lexie was being neglected and abused. A county social worker was fired and two were disciplined in the aftermath of Lexie’s death.

The state is also looking specifically at how the Lexie case was handled. Her adoptive mother’s murder trial starts next Monday in Prince William Circuit Court and the findings of the second state investigation could also be ready by next week, said Virginia Department of Social Services spokeswoman Marianne McGhee.

The findings of the state’s reports gibed with the county’s internal investigation, said county Social Services Director Jack Ledden. He said the death of Lexie brought to light the need for better communication between police and social services, easier accessibility to case information and a new approach to staffing overnight shifts.

Currently, only one person is assigned or on-call to what is termed emergency duty for a week at a time and two weeks in a calendar year. The state investigation determined that this model is problematic for several reasons including the limited amount of experience gained from working these infrequent shifts and how being on-call for a week straight could negatively impact that employee’s production during regular business hours.

To address this situation, the department is looking into the creation of “an after-hours unit,” which possibly could involve more than one individual working these shifts at a time.

Ledden said he will also meet with county police Chief Charlie T. Deane to discuss what he called “advanced investigative techniques” in Child Protective Services cases that would involve all emergency workers.

The state review also uncovered employees’ desire to have one attorney follow CPS cases from start to finish. According to Ledden, there are four attorneys that deal with the department on a regular basis. But because of logistics and schedules set by the court, having one attorney follow one case would be extremely difficult to do.

However, Ledden did say they would look into whether the department needs to hire individuals for just clerical work or, more specifically, paralegal work.

To help battle the overall numbers game, the department will advertise two new positions in the Child Protective Services division. Currently, CPS has 10 investigators and ideally would have 17 at some point down the road, said Social Services Acting Chief of Services Kay Taylor.

The department will also hold more internal meetings to address any communication issues between staff and management and will put into place a better mentoring system for those individuals who are transferred to assist in other areas of the department.

Ledden said he believes that after all the investigations are completed the county will be a model for the state. In the process of achieving that status, Ledden said they will look at comparable jurisdictions to see what best traits they can implement within their department.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.