The Broward Sheriff’s Office’s child welfare unit wanted to lower its caseload as quickly as possible last month, so leaders launched a contest. They called the competition “March Madness” after the college basketball tournament. They challenged child abuse investigators to close as many cases safely as they could. And they offered awards to the winning investigators and their bosses.
An email flier promised a pizza party — punctuated by three exclamation points — to the top unit.
Experts on child protection warn that it is unwise to incentivize investigators to cut corners or act quickly when they are tasked with determining the safety of children who may have been abused or neglected.
“This isn’t a game,” said Richard Gelles, director of the Field Center for Policy, Practice and Research at the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s not a contest. These are life-and-death decisions.”
“They are making light of something that should not be made light of,” Gelles added.
[–] 18111271? ago
Fuck offf dept. I want investigation