Luzerne County working on temporary Children and Youth administrator appointment

Luzerne County’s administration is still working on appointing an employee to temporarily oversee Children and Youth now that interim overseer John Alunni has left for other employment.

County Acting Manager Brian Swetz said Thursday he expects an appointment soon.

Alunni’s last day of county employment was May 27. He had worked as the county’s human services program director and agreed to accept the interim agency oversight role after the county terminated former administrator Joanne Van Saun July 1 due to the criminal charges filed against her.

Van Saun was sentenced in December to 34 months of probation for misdemeanor child endangerment and obstruction offenses, with the first nine months on house arrest, related to her failure to investigate at least 217 reports alleging child abuse and neglect in 2017.

Although the permanent director position had been advertised shortly after Van Saun’s departure, at a salary range of $70,000 to $83,000, the administration opted to hold off on filling it.

Now that incoming county manager Randy Robertson is set to start work the week of June 13, the administration has again advertised the position at an adjusted annual salary range of $75,000 to $83,000, according to a posting under the human resources career opportunities section at luzernecounty.org.

Resumes are due June 15. The county is seeking a bachelor’s degree and five years of progressively responsible experience in the social services field, including three years in an administrative or supervisory role in a children and youth social services program agency, the posting said.

The new director faces challenges beyond fallout from the Van Saun case.

On April 5, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services informed the county it was keeping the agency at a provisional license status through Sept. 1, citing non-compliance with regulations found through six inspections performed between March 2021 and January 2022.

The state has reviewed and approved the county agency’s corrective plan for findings, said the letter from state Human Services Department Deputy Secretary Jonathan Rubin.

”The department has worked closely with you and your staff to identify areas of needed improvement and provide technical assistance and will continue to provide support and technical assistance to the agency throughout this process,” Rubin’s letter said.

Recruiting and retaining Children and Youth caseworkers continues to be a challenge here and statewide largely due to low compensation and the high on-the-job stress of investigating alleged child abuse and neglect, officials have said.

The county agency has been working with the county human resources department and the state civil service to address caseworker vacancies, officials have said. The administration also has been working with the state on the possibility of funding retention bonuses that would only require a 20% county match.

The unionized caseworkers have been working under a collective bargaining agreement that expired the end of 2021, and a new contract is in still in negotiation, officials said.

Under the county’s home rule charter, county council must approve union contracts upon recommendation by the administration.

Attempting to help with recruitment, county officials had increased the caseworker starting salary in 2018, when the last union contract was approved. The more experienced “caseworker 2” position currently starts at $38,956 annually, while compensation for the entry-level “caseworker 1” job begins at $32,419.

According to recent county hirings, this equates to $16.62 per hour for a caseworker 1 and $19.98 per hour for a caseworker 2.