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Sample Letter to Congress:
GAO Child Welfare Workforce Report
[Date]
The Honorable [Insert Name]
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable [Insert Name]
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senator/Representative:
As a constituent who works with abused and neglected children and their families, I would like to bring to your attention a recent U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report that shows for the first time a clear connection between large child welfare caseloads and retention of caseworkers and the safety of children in the child welfare system.
The GAO report makes a compelling case for supporting the child welfare workforce in order to better protect children and youth. Specifically, the report states that worker turnover negatively impacts children's safety and permanency by delaying the timeliness of investigations and limiting the frequency and length of worker visits with children. The report also clearly documents that worker turnover disrupts the continuity of services and transitioning cases to remaining staff takes time and can result in delays to permanency decisions. You may access this GAO report, Child Welfare: HHS Could Play a Greater Role in Helping Child Welfare Agencies Recruit and Retain Staff (GAO-03-357), online at CWLA's website, http://www.cwla.org/programs/workforce.
I urge you to support additional federal funding for protecting and serving the children and families in our state/district. Through additional federal resources we can achieve improved outcomes for our most vulnerable children, the victims of child abuse and neglect.
Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you should have any questions or would like to discuss this matter further.
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