CHILDREN'S SERVICES WORKERS STRIKE; SKELETON STAFF AT LANCASTER OFFICE SCRAMBLING.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services administrators and nonstriking workers stepped in to try to keep up with essential tasks as department workers countywide went on strike.

All 13 supervisors and about 83 of 90 social workers in Lancaster walked out Tuesday, strikers said, and workers from other divisions - such as adoptions - were being moved to cover for the strikers.

``We are operating with a skeleton crew,'' department spokeswoman Victoria Pipkin said. ``The emphasis is now on child protection. We're taking calls on abuse and neglect, making assessments, and, if they have to, go out and take children into custody.''

With a shortage of staff, home visits planned for Tuesday were being rescheduled in cases considered nonserious or where it was not life-threatening, Pipkin said.

Pipkin did not have information of the number of visits or whether any court cases were affected.

``It's had a serious impact because we are operating with a skeleton crew,'' Pipkin said. ``I can't say how long we can go on, but certainly it's not an ideal way to function with regard to child protection.''

Strikers said Lancaster workers rushed to make necessary home visits before walking out, and showed up for scheduled court hearings Tuesday before going on strike.

``One guy was out till 9 p.m. last night seeing kids,'' said David Hinson, a supervising social worker out on strike.

Children's service workers at the Lancaster office said the strike was necessary because of high caseloads and time-consuming paperwork.

``We're working weekends doing home calls. It's not an eight-hour job anymore,'' said Barbra Garcia, a supervising social worker walking the Lancaster picket line. ``Overtime is not worth it if you are working 12 to 14 hours a day. You can't keep up with the job.''

The Lancaster office on East Avenue K-6 serves about 3,500 children, and caseloads per worker average in the mid-50s, said Hinson. Countywide, some workers handle 60 to 70 cases, strikers said. Union negotiators want to reduce that number to the 30s and 40s.

``Workload is the biggest issue,'' Hinson said. ``It's workload. It goes beyond the number of children. It's work per child.''

Hinson said the department must hire more workers to replace those who are quitting in frustration. About 20 people have left in the past year, and about 80 percent of the staff in Lancaster has worked two years or less, strikers said.

``Headquarters say they are hiring workers, but ask about the attrition rate. People are leaving the department in droves, they say they can't do the job,'' Hinson said. ``In our opinion, personnel is not hiring fast enough to bring the caseload down.''

Strikers said additional paperwork required for each case takes away valuable time better spent working directly with children.

``The courts, the state and our director have added extra work. The amount of work per child has increased,'' Hinson said.

For example, workers have long had to notify court officials when a child is moved from one foster home to another, but now they have to notify the childrens' attorneys as well.

``We have to keep attorneys apprised of situations which are not directly related to the child's safety,'' Hinson said.

Pipkin said the paperwork is required to meet legal guidelines.

``Some people call it paperwork. We call it accountability,'' she said.

Pipkin added that the department is hiring on a regular basis, and that the number of cases is going up because child abuse reporting is increasing.

``It's a catch-up battle that we are constantly fighting,'' Pipkin said.

Sheriff's Department officials in Lancaster said they had not received any reports of any problems because of the walkout.

Superior Court Referee Robert Stevenson, who oversees cases of abused and neglected children removed from their homes at the juvenile dependency court in Lancaster, declined Tuesday to comment on the strike and whether it had an impact.

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Photo: (Color) Workers picket outside the Lancaster children's services office.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News