A little-known police force that patrols state institutions and accompanies child welfare workers to potentially dangerous homes piled up $3.4 million in overtime last year, boosting the payroll 34 percent, according to a Star-Ledger review of state payroll records.

A total of 13 officers in the 157-member Human Services Police Department racked up more than 1,000 hours of overtime last year. And a dispatcher worked an extra 2,324 hours -- or an average of 45 overtime hours a week, the review found. The $3.4 million in overtime marked the second consecutive year overtime topped $3 million -- and the fifth straight year it exceeded $1.5 million.

Police and state officials blamed the overtime on short staffing, saying they are hard-pressed to cover five state hospitals and seven developmental centers, and provide round-the-clock service to the Division of Youth and Family Services.

"In times we are dealing with now, with the financial problems, they are not going to hire more people," said Senior Police Officer Ricardo Morales, president of PBA Local 113. "So we deal with needs the best we can."

Overtime costs are common across state government. For example, the Department of Corrections, which has about 6,500 officers, paid about $54 million in overtime during the 2007 fiscal year, according to budget documents. That, however, amounts to less than half the average overtime pay taken home by Human Services Police Department officers.

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) said the force is adequately staffed and oversight is needed more than extra bodies.

"They've got to rein this spending in," DeCroce said. "There needs to be a lot more oversight and accountability here."

The rising overtime costs also drew the ire of lawmakers during state budget hearings this spring.

The 2007 payroll documents reveal nearly 80 officers worked at least 500 extra hours; 39 bumped their salaries by more than 50 percent; and 52 made at least $30,000 in overtime.

Topping the overtime list is a communications officer who accumulated 2,325 overtime hours, nearly tripling her salary. Imelda Richinsin-Moore, a 10-year veteran whose normal pay is $46,784, took home $125,000, according to the review. She did not respond to requests for comment.

Morales, the union president, was second on the 2007 overtime list, generating 1,413 hours and more than doubling his regular pay for a total of $135,197. Sgt. James Duca, a 19-year veteran, also more than doubled his salary, making $154,592, the department's top earner, records show.

Morales strongly denied officers are taking advantage of the system to rack up large paychecks. Overtime requests are approved by superiors after careful assessment of each situation, he said. The officials who approve overtime pay either declined to be interviewed or did not respond to questions.

"It's a matter of safety, for kids first and then case workers," Morales said. "If we don't respond when called, what will happen? If a kid or case worker gets hurt, who will be to blame? When we're called, we have to go."

The force is run by the Department of Human Services and also serves the new Department of Children and Families, which oversees DYFS. Spokeswomen for both departments said managers keep a close eye on overtime.

The overtime tab is rising even though the number of officers in the Human Services Police Department was boosted from 80 to 140 four years ago to provide protection for DYFS workers in difficult neighborhoods or in tense family situations. There are also about a dozen civilian employees.

The 60 added officers were assigned to DYFS as part of a massive court-ordered reform of New Jersey's child welfare system. They also conduct background checks, locate missing parents and children, monitor field visits, transport kids to programs or court hearings, and act as liaisons with municipal police and prosecutors.

However, union officials contend the added hiring has not kept up with the reform's extra demand. They fear staffing levels will affect the safety of caseworkers.

"Being a field DYFS worker is a very dangerous job and that has been misunderstood and discounted by people safe in their buildings in Trenton," Hetty Rosenstein said, president of CWA Local 1037, which represents 3,000 DYFS workers.

Following questions from The Star-Ledger in the past week, Human Services Capt. Brian Brady reissued a year-old directive to remind officers of the overtime policy, "which sets clear parameters and requires prior approval by supervisors," said Ellen Lovejoy, a Human Services spokeswoman. She said supervisors monitor so workers deliver "peak performance."

Acting Children and Families Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts, appointed July 1, has asked staff to work with the Human Services to review overtime costs, said Kate Bernyk, a DCF spokeswoman.

"There is a concern about overtime hours that have been earned, especially during these difficult fiscal times," Bernyk said.

The total cost rose more than $267,000 in 2007, even though actual overtime hours dropped slightly. The reason: Officers got pay raises, Lovejoy said.