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Serious Social Worker Allegations Languish in Bureaucratic and Budgetary Limbo

With the current budget crisis, previously backed-up State agencies have only gotten worse.

An important case in this regard is the Oregon Board of Clinical Social Workers. This is the agency to which one complains if social workers in the state violate ethical or sexual codes of conduct.

Given the fragile populations served by social workers, and the issues at stake, the process of complaint adjudication is crucial in ensuring public trust.

It's social workers, often, who decide the fate of children, and even whole families. And when social workers are accused of violating their own codes of conduct, a timely investigation of the matter is crucial in order to determine  a)what really happened; and b)what, if anything, should be done about it.

Which brings us to the heart of the problem. Currently, a compliant under investigation by the Board is taking over a year to be decided. Because the process of investigation is secret, in order to protect (primarily) the social worker, it's never clear whether the investigation has even begun within that year.

Due to this lengthy delay, key memories can fade.  Cases can languish interminably, or fade into obscurity.

Is this the way Oregon wants to pursue accountability for those who work with the least powerful among us?

To begin researching a possible show, contact:

Martin Pittioni

Executive Director, Oregon State Board of Social Workers

503-378-5735, ext. 4

Background: California just had a full-blown scandal over similar complaint processing delays with its Nursing Board. As a result, the entire Board was fired.

posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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