Thursday, 4:30 PM
Social Services sees boost
By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff
Social workers at the Department of Social Services will soon have the equivalent of 12 additional full-time physicians, child psychiatrists, and other medical personnel to advise them on complex cases, new hires that come after two high-profile child abuse cases exposed the agency’s shortage of medical expertise, state officials said today.
The new medical input will come from a combination of new positions within DSS and the Department of Mental Health, two agencies that have pledged to work more closely in the future on high-risk cases. This means that the two agencies will have the equivalent of 16 full-time medical staff positions, up from four.
"The combination of medical services that we’ll be providing, and DMH support, will be an important contribution to increasing the safety of children with medical and psychiatric conditions," said DSS Commissioner Harry Spence following a public hearing at the State House.
The special hearing, held by the House Child Abuse and Neglect Committee, came three weeks after a Hull couple was arrested on murder charges for giving a fatal overdose of a psychotropic drug to their 4-year-old daughter, Rebecca Riley. Because of complaints that the parents abused and neglected their children, DSS staff was involved in monitoring the family when the girl died in December.
The psychiatrist who diagnosed Rebecca with bipolar disorder when she was 2 and prescribed her three psychotropic drugs has come under investigation by the state’s medical licensing board.
Speaking last night on WGBH’s "Greater Boston," Governor Deval Patrick said he considered asking for Spence’s resignation after the Riley case, but decided it would not be fair. "This is a distinguished profession. And I think it is right and wise to take the time to make a judgment on the facts and not in the heat of the moment."
Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.
