Massachusetts News
By Edward G. Oliver

January 5--Untrained social workers are the ones who are removing children from their families, according to Dr. Mary McCrae, a psychologist who handled referrals from the DSS for more than twenty years.

She has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and worked for the Department of Mental Health for ten years before opening her own practice in the Plymouth area. She performed psychological evaluations, worked with families, and is familiar with the mechanics of foster placement, foster care and the policies of DSS. 

When asked if caseworkers are the ones making the decision to remove children from the home, Dr. McCrae replied, "Yes, they are." She explained that the caseworker makes the decision and the supervisor simply approves it after a review without ever seeing the child or family. 

"I don’t believe the caseworkers have the expertise to make the kinds of decisions that they make," she said. 

"Most of the caseworkers I have worked with are unmarried, childless young women who have had little experience with children’s behavior or psychological problems but who determine fitness of parenting on brief observations of the children and their parents." 

Dr. McCrae has found consistently over the years that the people who make the decisions whether or not to remove children from their homes are not licensed social workers or trained in psychology. "They are called social workers but they actually do not have degrees in social work. I think the department has a few licensed social workers who are usually supervisors."

She believes the only requirement for caseworkers is to have some sort of bachelor’s degree. 

At times, Dr. McCrae used to argue with the DSS against placements even though the child had been referred by them to her. When she recommended that the child stay with the parents, her advice and evaluations were frequently ignored. In such cases, the child was sent to another agency providing similar services because, Dr. McCrae believes, the department was looking for a different recommendation. "I know of several cases where, in my opinion, there is no cause or evidence that the child should have been removed."

One DSS policy she finds particularly distressing is "the abrupt removal of children from the home." That, coupled with little visitation time with the parents "is extremely traumatizing to children." She believes a medical doctor, a psychologist and a licensed social worker should work together with the family and give their expert opinion rather than removing children from the home on the recommendation of the caseworker. 

"Clearly we have naïve and uninformed people making decisions on removing children," she said.

Dr. McCrae, who lives in Marshfield Hills and has been contracting with a South Shore counseling agency since 1995, said she complained about DSS to the Boston Globe and other newspapers in January of 1996 but the papers didn’t do anything with it. "If anything, things have gotten worse," she said. Some of her complaints include:

• Conflict of Interest. DSS caseworkers investigate and provide care, a dual role that can create conflict for the caseworker and for the family members.

• Lack of Knowledge. In addition to a caseworker’s lack of knowledge about child rearing, coping with poverty, alcohol and drugs, they "operate on assumptions without the factual information to support those assumptions." For example, "Depression is assumed to be an indication of sexual abuse necessitating a referral to one of their contracted assessment specialists, who may refer yet to another agency for psychological testing." Dr. McCrae was asked to test a young woman for evidence that such abuse has occurred, adding, "There is no known psychological test that can determine whether or not sexual abuse has occurred." 

• "Adoption Parties" Create Conflicts In Children. Agencies that contract with DSS have "adoption parties" which children attend to meet potential adoptive parents. These create "monumental conflicts" in children who are not chosen for adoption or who do not want to leave their foster home. "I have found in my work with DSS that very few give any thought to the importance of attachment in early childhood development," she said.

• Suggestions Are Viewed As "Non-Compliance." "The unlicensed, variously trained, and of limited experience caseworkers and their supervisors determine the type of therapy that they deem necessary. Failure for a family to do what DSS asks, or to seek their own therapists, or to have the therapists alter the plan without their approval is viewed as non-compliance."

• Decisions Do Not Consider Child’s Needs. "In summation, the direct treatment of children is conducted to fit the views of these caseworkers, their supervisors and their contractors. These decisions supersede the recommendations of licensed professionals who are not part of that loop. I believe that the direct treatment of children is frequently done not with the children’s needs in mind, but with the agency’s abilities to develop contracts for service with DSS. Typically these agencies also hire social workers and counselors who do not meet the minimal requirements for licensure."

Dr. McCrae said she would be willing to serve on any committee involved in investigating or revamping DSS. "What I object to is the arbitrary and punitive decisions that do not consider, first of all, the needs and rights of the child."
 

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