PROVIDENCE — Casework supervisors in the state Department of Children Youth and Families sent their boss a letter last week, saying the state needs to reduce “unmanageable” caseloads to ensure the safety of children in state custody or under state supervision.

“This letter serves to inform you that despite our extraordinary efforts, we are unable to achieve compliance with departmental policy under the current, unmanageable caseload and workload conditions,” supervisors told DCYF Director Patricia Martinez in a Nov. 6 letter. “It is critical for the safety and well being of the children and families we serve to reduce caseloads in Family Services to ensure compliance with agency policy and best practice.”

The letter, signed by 21 casework supervisors in the Family Services Units, was written one week after the state child advocate issued a report, saying DCYF has failed to make some of the most important changes that a review panel called for after a 3-year-old boy was beaten to death while in state custody two years ago.

The Oct. 31 report, by Child Advocate Jametta O. Alston, said the state hasn’t held caseloads to the recommended average of 14 families per caseworker. As of Sept. 4, average caseloads stood at 18.62 in Bristol and Newport counties, 16.43 in Kent and Washington counties, 17.31 in Providence and 20.04 in other parts of Providence County, including Woonsocket.

Alston’s report coincided with the second anniversary of the death of Thomas J. “T.J.” Wright, a boy whom authorities say was beaten to death in Woonsocket after DCYF placed him with his aunt, Katherine S. Bunnell, and her boyfriend, Gilbert Delestre.

In their letter to Martinez, the casework supervisors said, “As you are aware, the supervisors of the Family Services Units have met with you on numerous occasions to discuss our concerns regarding high caseloads and unfilled [Family Services Units] social caseworker vacancies. We have voiced to you that it is imperative that you fill social worker vacancies immediately and restore [full-time equivalents] that have been removed from the Family Services Units.”

The supervisors said they have proposed solutions, such as “working with Family Court to stem the flow of truancy cases that continue to flood our system.” And they said, “We look forward to continuing to work with you to resolve the current crisis.”

But, the supervisors wrote, “We, the undersigned, value the policies that drive best practice with our clients.” And, they said, “We are gravely concerned with the continuous expansion of systemic dysfunctions affecting the Department of Children Youth and Families.”

In an interview, Martinez said she received the letter on Thursday night and plans to discuss it during her next meeting with the supervisors. “I, too, am very concerned with the caseloads,” she said. “And that is why I continue to engage in conversations with front-line staff to come up with a strategy to improve practice and manage cases.”

Martinez said the department is working on long-term and short-term solutions. For example, the department hired 22 child-support technicians last year to help with the transportation of children, thereby relieving some of the burden on social workers. The department also compensates foster parents for transporting children to appointments and hearings, and it contracts with community agencies to provide some services, she said.

Also, Martinez said the department tries to identify “best practices” so social workers have more time to manage cases and visit children. She commended her staff, saying, “Social workers dealing with these cases are miracle workers.”

Child-welfare workers are facing increased caseloads throughout the country, while governments struggle to find money to pay social workers, Martinez said. “Financial resources at the state and federal level are not what they used to be,” she said.

Martinez has noted that caseload averages were down in June after the state hired 74 social workers, but caseload levels increased after 38 social workers retired or quit.

Alston said she hopes the casework supervisors also sent their letter to the General Assembly and Governor Carcieri so it’s included in the discussion of how much money DCYF gets next year. While the state budget is tight, poverty levels are growing and affecting children, she said. “And the only safety net for those children is DCYF,” she said. “There is a reason caseloads are growing. It’s not that parents are just not taking care of children, or are lazy. Economic forces are driving what’s happening.”

Also, Alston said new initiatives, such as drug courts and truancy courts, are adding to the workload without a corresponding increase in DCYF staff.

Alston said she hadn’t heard about the letter until contacted by a reporter yesterday. “It is frightening that we have these caseloads,” she said. “One person can’t handle all of that.”