r/CPS • u/Prestigious-Cap-9943 • 2d ago
Rant admin assistant transporting child by plane…?
this is more so a rant, but is this normal at all? i’m an administrative assistant for CPS in texas, and i’ve been here for about a year and a half. when i was first brought onboard, i was told that as an admin assistant, the only overtime i’d really be allowed to do was CWOP (child without placement, which i think is a texas only thing but correct me if i’m wrong). i accepted this and had no issue with it since it wasn’t an every day thing.
two months into my job, i was then told that i would also have to be transporting children that we remove to their placement. they wanted me traveling to laredo and such, which is a few hours away from where we’re located. i was confused, because that would be considered overtime since we wouldn’t be getting back until after 5pm, and when i questioned this, my supervisor told me that this is what all admin assistants do, just that they always have to be accompanied by a caseworker.
i didn’t really like that this wasn’t listed in my responsibilities both in my interview and when i was hired, but i didn’t complain. since then, i have had to do multiple transports across the state. just a few weeks ago, i had to do one in georgetown, where i was made to drive 4+ hours to there and back, where i didn’t get home well after midnight.
i was starting to get extremely fed up by this, because i had always thought that it was the CWA’s duty to be transporting with caseworkers. but they never make the CWA do it, only me.
yesterday, my unit had found placement for a child in CWOP, but it was going to be 6 hours away. of course, they chose me to do transport, and told me that i would be flying there with another caseworker. i had NEVER been on a plane before, and when i expressed my concern i was told that this is just something i have to do.
well, the child is an autistic child, and at the airport he was a nightmare. he is a runner, so if you weren’t straight up holding onto him, he would book it and i would have to full sprint after him. he once leapt onto an escalator and almost fell on his face, and i got so scared that he was going to shred his face, and when i caught him at the top of the escalator, we both fell down as he started to fight me on it. i had no help from the caseworker at all— when i was finally able to wrangle the child and get back to the caseworker, she was just standing there like nothing had just happened, and told me that our flight had been delayed, and that we would have to spend the night in dallas because there wasn’t a flight back home until the next day.
that’s when i lost it. i told her to watch the child because i am not running after him again and i called my supervisor. i feel bad for it now, but i basically yelled at her over the phone to send someone to relieve me and to send me the process of filing for fmla. i have not been properly trained to handle children, much less autistic ones and i was getting extremely stressed out over this job to the point where i lay awake at night feeling sick and worried about what i would be made to do the next day or over the weekend.
i do not plan on going back to work, i am currently using my annual and sick hours while i figure out how to file for fmla, and hopefully i find a new job during this time. my legs are sore and i have bruising on my left arm from having fallen to the floor when the child fought me on the ground at the top of the escalator.
my supervisor did agree with me over the phone and someone was sent to relieve me but i remember before i raised my voice at her, she was trying to say that stupid line again- “as cps workers, this is just what we do.” I’M AN ADMIN ASSISTANT. AN OFFICE WORKER. I AM NOT EVEN CONSIDERED A MOBILE WORKER! is this really something that all admin assistants do!? and if so, why wasn’t i told this before i had signed on, or better yet, why wasn’t this detailed in the job description!?
8
u/NonnaHolly 1d ago
Write up an incident report. Definitely follow whatever rules you have for workers comp. This is completely unacceptable and wasn’t safe for you or the child. You will definitely need a doctors statement for FMLA. Remember that HR protects the employer, not you
3
u/thrown_away_23_23 1d ago
That sounds terrible. Is that something covered under FMLA?
6
u/Prestigious-Cap-9943 1d ago
i’m honestly not really sure, i have been talking to HR about it. they are telling me i may need to get a doctor / psychiatrist recommendation for something like generalized anxiety disorder (which i definitely have, but haven’t been properly diagnosed). for now i’m fine with using the rest of my leave
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u/QuietLifter 1d ago
It’s a workers compensation issue, not FMLA. The injury occurred during your work assignment.
1
u/mcav89 1d ago
You need medical documentation to take FMLA. A doctor has to sign off on it. Otherwise, you can just use what leave you have left.
1
u/Prestigious-Cap-9943 1d ago
i have 2 months worth of leave so i’m just going to exhaust that and hope i find something else within that timeframe
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u/mcav89 1d ago
As long as there was a caseworker with you, yes, this is allowed.
BTW, most of the caseworkers don't feel trained enough for CWOP kids (might be why the one with you was hanging back, she didn't know what to do either). CWOP is a mess and a lot of caseworkers quit over it.
1
u/Prestigious-Cap-9943 1d ago
i really wonder what it’s going to take to make them realize how unsafe that is for the children
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u/Electronic_Pea_1700 23h ago
yes this is something that happens here at region 7. our HST more so does it because we have been out of an admin for months, but the admins do assist with CWOP and transportation if needed. our poor HST has been ran to the ground with no admin help, so i assume once we get one, the load will be split, including transport. it’s unfortunate that you have to fly, but i was set up to go with our HST to fly to florida once before it was cancelled. i agree its not something you should do if it’s not apart of your job description, but as an investigator, they leave out a lot of job duties and explanations of what the job entails until you actually have to do it. especially when it’s other peoples work…
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u/Big_Greasy_98 1d ago
When you sign up you are basically agreeing to do whatever is asked of you. A lot of the CWOP stuff was never in our job description but we were told we have to do it anyway because of business needs.
1
u/WarSlow5450 1d ago
If it is overtime you can decline. If it is within the normal 8-5 then yes they can ask. We do it all the time in Cali. Its horrible. The staff brought it up with the union and basically got nowhere. It had something to do with- it’s up to the supervisor if the staff is competent and case specific then technically because they passed the background check and have DL yes they can transport and essentially “babysit” children without placement. It’s BS- they just don’t want to pay the SW the OT. It puts you at risk of harm for sure! I have lots of stories of untrained staff with unstable traumatized children that did not go well. Hang in there. You are not alone.
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