New director takes over Spartanburg County DSS

The Spartanburg County office of the state Department of Social Services, which offers protection for the most vulnerable among us, has struggled for years to find some sense of stability.

The agency — which provides protective services for children and vulnerable adults, adoption and foster care services, and administers economic assistance programs like food stamps — has been burdened with a higher-than-normal caseload, turnover among case workers and leadership, and a striking deficit in the number of families available to host foster children.

This summer, Josie Jones was promoted to lead the office, which has about 175 employees. Jones is the fourth director to take the reins in two years.

State Sen. Scott Talley, a Republican on the Senate DSS Oversight Subcommittee, said he has received several complaints over the years about the high volume of cases local DSS employees must handle.

“Caseload — I think that’s where the turnover is. The poor case worker with a pile of files can’t handle it. They get burned out. With low pay, they leave,” Talley said. “It’s a high-stress job. They’re in court several days a week.”

Talley said local law enforcement appears to be turning in a higher number of reports than other large counties, like Greenville, which leads to a bigger caseload.

DSS spokeswoman Marilyn Matheus said last year the Spartanburg office had a child welfare services staff turnover rate of 36 percent, which is higher than the statewide average turnover rate of 32 percent.

“Spartanburg ranks among the state’s largest counties with higher caseloads,” Matheus said. “The agency uses caseload data to make staff assignments, but recognizes staffing is not the only reason for higher caseloads.”

Talley said he has suggested spreading out cases among counties in the same judicial circuit. In Spartanburg’s case, that would mean sharing work with Cherokee County, which has a smaller staff but also a smaller caseload, he said.

The Spartanburg County office has seen directors come and go over the years.

In August 2016, Robin Kubler was named director of the Spartanburg County DSS office, succeeding Angela Talley Robinson, who took another position with the agency in the Upstate.

Jonathan Hammond was named director in early 2017. At the time, Hammond said his main concern was finding more foster families. Then, an estimated 450 Spartanburg County children were in foster care, but only 140 families were available to host them.

Hammond left after less than a year.

Jones became interim director in February, and she was promoted to director on June 18, Matheus said.

Talley said he met with Jones recently and was impressed. He has invited her to address the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation at its November meeting.

Talley said he will work with Jones to try to improve the situation in the local office.

“I felt comfortable with Josie,” Talley said. “She has some fresh ideas.”

Attempts to reach Jones for comment were unsuccessful.

Jones earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at Lander University and graduated from Webster University with a master’s degree in counseling, with an emphasis in mental health counseling.

She has more than 10 years’ experience working with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, along with several years of leadership and management experience in government, nonprofit and community settings, Matheus said.

During her career, Jones has served as a foster care case manager, foster care supervisor and a regional performance coach for the Child Welfare Service Office. She also has worked at the state Department of Mental Health and with the state’s Guardian ad Litem program.