By Lindsay Press
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman recently held a press conference to discuss the implementation of a program of hiring retired law enforcement to work alongside Child Protective Systems (CPS) caseworkers.
Blakeman’s plan was about retired officers helping Child Protective Services caseworkers with their caseloads, so in the event that a caseworker needed to step away from an investigation to testify and attend court on behalf of children, then the caseworker could pass off the inquiry to an investigator.
“The goal and objective is to provide the tools for our caseworkers to be successful, and in doing so, that’s the reason why this particular program is only an asset,” said the county’s social services commissioner, Jose Lopez.
According to Blakeman, the number of active cases dropped 25% from 1,077 in 2023 to 805 in 2024. However, the graph that Blakeman posted on Facebook lacked citations and sources to back up the numbers. Long Island Life & Politics reached out to Blakeman’s office for that information, but did not hear back as of press time.
In comparison to the six to twelve months it would take to hire a new caseworker, Blakeman said, retired officers and first responders would only need to enroll in a mandatory six-week training course, “We currently have eight active investigators who will help reduce the caseload of the CPS files that we get in, and we do get a voluminous amount,” Blakeman said.
Lopez explained how he tracks the cases. “The way I personally have done it, I’ve gone out into the field, and I have been with caseworkers on their cases. Why? Because what better way for me to have a level of understanding for what they do each and every day and what they need than by me going out with them?”
Blakeman said the idea to have retired law enforcement help CPS caseworkers came from a desire to protect children and was partially inspired by the tragic death of Thomas Valva, the 8-year-old who died of hypothermia in 2020 after his father and stepmother made him and his brother sleep in the garage, where the temperature dropped to 19 degrees. Blakeman referred to Valva’s death as a “wake-up call.”
Legislator Rose Walker (R-Hicksville), chair of the Legislative Health Committee, said of the aftermath of Thomas Valva’s death, “This can never happen again to another child.”
LILP also reached out to the Legislative Minority, but did not hear back as of press time.