DCF fumbles prompt Gov. Charlie Baker to re-establish Worcester office for Department of Children and Families

Standing with officials from the state Department of Children and Families, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday said the embattled agency is implementing new policies that will attempt to reduce caseloads and help retain and recruit social workers.

BOSTON – Standing with officials from the state Department of Children and Families, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday said the embattled agency is implementing new policies that will attempt to reduce caseloads and help retain and recruit social workers.

Baker said the agency struggles with “mission confusion” and there has been an “absence of an overall playbook.”

“We are simplifying and focusing the mission: Keep kids safe,” Baker said.

Those efforts include the return of a Central Massachusetts Regional Office, which was closed in 2009 due to budget cuts.

The closure led to the agency’s Western Office taking on “more than 50 percent of the state’s geography and caseload.”

The Central Regional Office in Worcester will be reestablished by Jan 1, 2016, Baker said.

This is a developing story. Stay with MassLive.com for more.

Source: MassLive Worcester http://masslive.com/news/worcester