Social workers in the Los Angeles County are struggling to keep up with a heavy caseload, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times.

The county has a backlog of 3,700 alleged child abuse cases to investigate that have been open 60 days or more. The cause of the backlog — too few social workers burdened with new tasks to prevent child deaths, the article said.

“The social worker staff simply cannot keep up with everything we are asking them to do,” department Director Trish Ploehn said. “All of the things that equate with quality do take time.”

Q: Is there anything social workers can do to get more resources to do their jobs?