NORWICH – The Chenango County Board of Supervisors will decide on Monday whether to add two employees to the Social Services department.

Lawmakers from three standing committees, who already agreed to create the new positions, say the stress of working mandated overtime has resulted in too much employee turnover in the Department of Social Services Child Protective Services division. CPS caseworkers are responsible to receive and investigate reports of child abuse and neglect, and to provide, arrange for, and monitor services for children and their families. They are also on-call whenever the agency is closed.

Caseworkers regularly work 10 to 20 hours per week overtime. While the rate goes in cycles from year to year, and turnover was actually lower in 2010 and early 2011, the extra overtime chalked up within Chenango County’s CPS unit is above normal.