COLUMBUS — The death of a child-welfare agency caseworker has made her colleagues realize that they've been thinking the same thing could happen to them.

        Nancy Fitzgivens, 53, a Franklin County Children Services employee, was beaten, choked and stabbed to death during a home visit Oct. 16. Gregory Pack, who lived in the home, is charged with aggravated murder.

        “What was most horrible about the whole thing is a lot of workers were thinking these things before it happened,” Monica Kagey, a Children Services caseworker, told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Sunday.

        Encountering hostile people is a regular occurrence for Children Services workers.

        Because their jobs require them to investigate complaints of abuse and neglect of children, they often have to deal with parents whose problems can include drug addiction and mental illness.

        At the time of the slaying, Children Services caseworkers had reported 17 verbal and four physical assaults in the past year.

        Following Ms. Fitzgivens' death, questions arose concerning why caseworkers weren't equipped with cell phones, panic buttons, pepper spray or better self-defense training.

        Caseworker Serge Schneider said he gave agency leaders several suggestions in writing on possible safety improvements.

        “The whole idea that it could happen was pretty evident to me,” he said. “I attempted to talk about that with people in higher authority than me, and in my experience those concerns went unheard. Nothing happened.”

        The agency's executive director, John Saros, didn't recall seeing Mr. Schneider's suggestions, but said they probably were passed on to the agency's safety task force.

        Caseworkers believe administrators have left the burden of their safety to them. They suggest a policy change that would require supervisors to flag dangerous cases.

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