PETERSBURG-AK The State Office of Children’s services may be moving both of its Petersburg-based social worker jobs to Juneau. The two locally-based employees handle the child abuse and neglect cases for Petersburg, Wrangell, and Kake. Supervisor Debbie Downs will soon be retiring after 38 years in the field. Her colleague, Bruce Westry, is a retired law enforcement officer who was also expecting to leave his position in the fall. Downs says she and Westry thought the agency would keep at least one of the positions in Petersburg after they left. However, she says her superiors have told her that both positions will be moved to Juneau. That would leave Petersburg without a locally-based social worker. According to a Department of Health and Social Services Spokesperson, OCS administrators say they have not yet made a final decision on the issue. Matt Lichtenstein spoke with downs about it on Thursday:
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