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New Trumbull Children Services director continues to work to improve agency
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Tim Schaffner, executive director of Trumbull County Children Services Board, says he’s now working on his second workload analysis of his employees since becoming director in April 2012.
A workload analysis determines what amount of time is spent by each worker on various tasks to identify places where they can become more efficient.
The agency also has reduced its workforce by 10 percent since 2005, and it hasn’t increased base wages since 2010, Schaffner said. It had 161 employees in 2013, down from 196 in 2004. Of the agency’s total budget, $6,172,133 went to salaries in 2013, down from $6,249,985 in 2004, according to figures provided by the agency.
Schaffner listed these and other things he’s worked on since becoming executive director to demonstrate the agency, works with abused and neglected children and their families, deserves for voters to approve the 0.8-mill, 10-year, renewal levy on this year’s general election ballot.
When Schaffner was hired, he said he would handle the job as director with transparency and do a root-cause analysis when something went wrong to try to fix it.
To that end, he has published detailed “dashboards” in the agendas and minutes of monthly meetings to show the public the areas where the agency needs improvement and those areas where the agency is achieving at a high level.
“We’re a public agency. The public has a right to know how we’re taking care of children and families,” he said.
Schaffner said the agency is considered one of the best in Ohio and possibly the best in Ohio in using alternative responses to child abuse or neglect cases.
The traditional response would be collecting evidence for court. An alternative response involes partnering with the family, he said. Schaffner said 80 percent of Trumbull CSB cases are handled in the alternative-response way.
Schaffner said most matters involving children are resolved in about 60 days.
“In cases of serious abuse, we work with local law enforcement and the county prosecutors to make sure tht those who harm children cannot repeat this horrible offense,” he said.
The agency works with foster parents who will take a child into their homes “any time of the day or night,” and provide residential treatment on the CSB campus for those youths whose behavior be tolerated in a traditional family. The agency provided services to 4,424 youths in 2,223 families in 2013.