Kansas Counties Expected to Pass Law and get Funds for Caseworker Safety Programs

The bill, expected to be signed by Bush before Christmas, is the latest in a series of initiatives that sprang from Teri Zenner’s slaying 15 months ago. She was stabbed to death in August 2004 while visiting Ellmaker at his Overland Park home.
Johnson County Mental Health officials have instituted new safety procedures, which are being adopted by the state of Kansas. And Matt Zenner has been on a mission to create national caseworker safety legislation he wants known as “Teri’s Law.” Johnson County Mental Health is emphasizing education over the latest technology. For instance, they tried Global Positioning Systems and one-button calling from a cell phone, but they generally proved unsatisfactory.
Instead, other procedural measures were put in place such as potentially violent client’s file will have a tag alerting workers to the possible risks. Caseworkers also are required to alert the staff to their daily schedules by computer, to register their vehicles with the mental health center and to provide photos for better identification should they turn up missing. More significant, initial visits with clients are now more likely to happen in the office, or with two staff members present. During office visits, a copy of a client’s picture ID is taken. Windows have been placed in all doors for better monitoring, and blinds in all rooms are required to be open. Other changes mean that corrections clients will be seen in jail, staffers will wear identification badges and have their photos placed in a county database. Emergency color codes will now alert workers through an overhead paging system when a crisis occurs.
Studies show fear of violence is a reality for caseworkers. As many as one in four social workers have reported some form of attack, Catherine Crisp, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. Also, 48 percent of all nonfatal injuries from assaults on the job happen in the social services and health-care fields, says U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Kansas Democrat and former county prosecutor who introduced the $100,000 funding measure for the counties in his district.