AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Hundreds of veteran workers with state Child Protective Services who play important roles in protecting children from abuse are complaining they were excluded from the $12,000 emergency pay raises recently granted to caseworkers.

The Dallas Morning News reports (http://bit.ly/2jKp4MF ) that many of the seasoned workers spent a decade or more in the field but now are in support roles that include monitoring new caseworkers for any missed threats to a child.

Lawmakers last month approved the pay raises that went to about 7,200 CPS employees, but agency leaders restricted eligibility in such a way that omitted about 320 of the specialized workers.

Henry "Hank" Whitman, the head of family protective services in Texas, is expected to ask lawmakers for an additional $1.2 million a year to pay the additional workers.

 

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