DOCS failing at-risk children: union BUDGET cuts are to blame for thousands of at-risk children and their families not being seen by NSW government caseworkers, the public sector union says. Only a quarter of the 61,300 children and young people reported as being at risk in the 2011/2012 financial year were interviewed by a caseworker and given a safety check, Fairfax reports. During that period, the number of full-time equivalent caseworkers was cut by five per cent. The issue has been exacerbated by a freeze on hiring new caseworkers for the Department of Family and Community Services, Fairfax reports. Steve Turner, assistant secretary of the Public Service Association of NSW, says staff are overwhelmed by insufficient resources that prevent them from meeting with vulnerable children and their families. "The O'Farrell government and (Community Services) Minister Pru Goward are failing in their duty of care to thousands of the most at-risk children and their families in our community," Mr Turner said in a statement on Wednesday. Job cuts, a lack of resources and a freeze on recruitment have created a crisis in the NSW Community Services department.