BOSTON, MA (WBZ-AM) -- Massachusetts Court workers who investigate allegations of child abuse claim they're woefully underpaid. They're pushing state lawmakers to give them more money.
They say they haven't had a raise since Ronald Reagan was President.
A small group of juvenile court investigators are refusing to take on new cases until they get paid more. They're pushing for $1.5 million dollars in the state budget, which would rise their pay by 10-dollars an hour. Governor baker tells me he's open to that possibility
“there's a lot of puts and takes in the budget. But this is something we're certainly happy to talk to folks in the legislature about as they go through their budget process. In the context of a lot of the stuff we've talked to the courts about - this is a fairly new item, but something we're certainly open to discussing,” governor baker said.
A number of the juvenile court investigators have advanced degrees in social work and law.
WBZ NewsRadio1030’s Kim Tunnicliffe reports.