Austin, USA - Caseworkers are struggling financially as the state faces a backlog to reimburse them for travel expenses connected to the removal of more than 400 children from a polygamist sect's West Texas ranch.
The Texas State Employees Union has fielded complaints about slow reimbursements. And state officials have heard "anecdotal complaints" from Child Protective Services workers who are contending with out-of-pocket expenses as they drive hundreds of miles a week to check on youngsters in foster care or on parents at risk of losing custody of their children.
"We are behind, there's no doubt," said Darrell Azar, a spokesman for Texas Department of Family Protective Services, which oversees CPS. "But plans are in place to speed up reimbursements."
Texas Department of Family Protective Services officials blame the backlog partly on the ongoing operations stemming from the removal of the youngsters from the compound near Eldorado.
The agency plans to hire an additional auditor and up to eight temporary employees to process the piling expense reports being received from the West Texas operations and caseworkers statewide, Azar said.
The state's policy of paying mileage for the shortest possible route to and from each destination workers must visit has posed a problem, said Mike Gross, the union's vice president. Workers often use alternate routes to avoid congestion and save time, even if its a few miles longer.
"They're having to eat those extra miles," Gross said.
CPS workers are reimbursed at 50.5 cents per mile, the maximum under federal standards, and the policy for the shortest route reimbursement has been in place for several years at all state agencies, Azar said.
"I think most of this goes back to the price of gas, which affects just about everybody, including state employees," he said. "I think that what's happening is that, as gas prices go up, our employees file their expense reports faster and faster. And that results in the backlogs."
Preliminary costs for overtime, travel and lodging during the first few weeks of the April raid and removal of the children from the compound reached $5.5 million. As more expense reports are submitted, the amount is expected to rise dramatically.
Foster care for the children in custody and support services are expected to cost at least $1.7 million per month for as long as the youngsters remain in state custody.