On August 23, Dr. Mary Ann Forgey was featured in The New York Times for her letter to the editor titled “How to Help Children at Risk of Abuse.”
To the Editor:
Re “Children at Risk as Caseworkers Shelter at Home” (front page, Aug. 7):
Home visits and in-person interviews are critical to the accurate assessment of the risk of harm to children reported to the state system for suspected abuse or neglect. To protect child protection workers during the pandemic, unions have lobbied successfully in certain states to suspend home visits and allow workers to work from home.
This strategy not only puts children at risk, but it also does not take into consideration the psychological and moral distress these workers experience when they are unable to properly assess if the reported children are at risk for harm.
Rather than taking away this critical part of the assessment process, unions should focus more on securing the protective equipment and protocols necessary for workers to safely and effectively do this essential part of their job.
