INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH 1 A National Overview of Recruitment and Retention of Child Welfare Workers: Lessons from Research

INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH 1

Institute for the Advancement of Social Institute for the Advancement of Social Work ResearchWork Research

A National Overview of Recruitment and Retention of

Child Welfare Workers: Lessons from Research

Prepared for the

NRC for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning

August 15, 2007 Teleconference

Joan Levy Zlotnik

Executive Director

Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research

www.iaswresearch.org

202 336 8393 [email protected]


Goals for the Session

• Put recruitment and retention concerns in a national context.

• Examine findings from research that can help identify solutions and strategies.

• Share ideas about what has and could work.• Provide resources to take away.


Making Workforce Improvement a Priority

• Growing recognition that there is a crisis related to child welfare workforce.– Competence and qualifications impact outcomes.– Turnover is costly (both $$ & child and family outcomes).– Difficulty attracting the “right” workers.– Paperwork, agency environment/support, caseload impact professionals’

interest in child welfare careers.– Continual questioning – Is social work the right degree for child welfare

work?

• Workforce issues are related to service quality (CSFR/PIPs)• Media attention highlights systemic problems• Class action lawsuits address caseload, workload, qualifications

and training


Documenting the Problem

• GAO Study (2003, 2004)

• Annie E. Casey Foundation Report (2003)

• Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care Report (2004)

• NASW Report (2003)

• Child and Family Service Reviews

• APHSA (2001 & 2005)

• Cornerstones for Kids (2006)

• NASW study of licensed social workers (2006)

• National Child Welfare Workforce Policy Workgroup

http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_CWMH_Workforce_Improvements


Assuring the Sufficiency of a Frontline- Workforce

• National study of licensed social workers

• Completed by the National Assn. of Social Workers Center for Workforce Studies

– Continue to attract professional social workers to work with children and families but retaining them is a problem!

– However, issues relate to:• Work environment

• Levels of compensation (earn less than social workers not serving a majority of children)

• Safety

• Vacancy rates

• Filling social work positions with non-social workers and outsourcing of social work functions.

* http://workforce.socialworkers.org/studies/children/NASW_06_Children.pdf


Staff Turnover and Child Abuse

• Recently released study comparing California counties

• High functioning counties – lowest turnover rates

– best paid staff

– compliance with recognized practice standards

– low rates of re-abuse.

• Lowest functioning counties– Highest turnover

– Lowest staff pay

– Highest rates of re-abuse

http://www.cornerstones4kids.org/images/nccd_relationships_306.pdf


Status of Research on Addressing the Problem

• Annie E. Casey Foundation launches Human Services Workforce Initiative (2003) across child serving – Contracts with Cornerstones for Kids (www.cornerstones4kids.org).

• IASWR committed to strengthening research-practice connections.– IASWR involvement in child welfare and aging workforce issues.– National leadership in promoting use of and documenting models of

university/agency child welfare partnerships and use of Title IV-E funds for professional education

• Literature reviews, growing body of research and evaluation studies.

• No systematic approach to reviewing and assessing the research to understand the strength of the outcomes.


Question

What will it take to develop and retain

a competent, committed workforce with

the caseload size and knowledge and skills

to get the work done?


Addressing the Problem

Casey HumanServices Workforce InitiativeEnhance understanding of the problem and identify and implement solutions

IASWR•Connecting research and practice•Expertise, knowledge and access

Univ. of Maryland School of Social Work IHSP & Center for Families•Expertise•Infrastructure•Access to references

Campbell Collaboration/ConsultationSystematic ReviewMethod & Structure

Factors Influencing Retention of Child Welfare Staff:

A Systematic

Review of Research


Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research

Factors Influencing Retention of Child Welfare Staff: A Systematic Review of Research

Zlotnik, DePanfilis, Daining & Lane (2005)

Available at www.iaswresearch.org

Supported by a Grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Human Services Workforce Initiative


Study Descriptions

• Retrospective record reviews of who exited

• Qualitative individual or group interviews/focus groups/narrative

• Surveys of current and/or former workers, supervisors and/or managers.

• Survey of state administrators

• Comparison of high and low turnover counties

• Study intent to remain/leave

• All but one study since 1990 and 65% since 1999

• Seven studies specifically examined Title IV-E education graduates and retention

• Few studies use standardized measures or instruments


IMPROVED RETENTION

Personal Factors+Professional commitment+ Previous work experience+ Education+Job Satisfaction+Efficacy+Personal characteristics

+ Age + Bilingual-Burnout-Emotional Exhaustion-Role overload/conflict/stress

Organizational Factors+ Better Salary+ Reasonable Workload+ Supervisory support+ Coworker Support+ Opportunities for advancement+ Valuing Workers

Strategy:Title IV-E Professional Education Prog.+ BSW+ MSW+ Degree Ed for workers

What Strategies and Conditions Influence the Retention of Staff in Public Child Welfare?


Retention Factors

• Personal Factors– Commitment to child welfare

• Personal experience (age & bi-lingual)

• Previous experience

• Wanting to work with children and families – goodness of fit

– Education• Social work – more likely

• Social work specialized in child welfare – most likely

• Less education and less relevant education – less likely

• Huge variation in qualifications of staff nationally – 10% masters to 60%

• Attributes of supervisors – skills in mentoring, high level of practice knowledge

– Self-efficacy• Perceived competence and human caring


Retention Factors

• Organizational factors– Quality supervision

– Manageable workload

– Peer support

– Feeling valued

– Opportunities for advancement

– Safety and resource availability

– Salary and benefits – people who leave make more $$


Negative Factors

• Burn-out – Emotional exhaustion

– Depersonalization

– Lack of personal accomplishment

• Negative organizational environment can lead to or reinforce personal factors

• Work and family life imbalance • Lack of commitment – no “goodness of fit”• Those with the least relevant and/or least education –

most likely to leave.


Issues to Think About

• How is retention defined?– Staying at agency

– Staying in child welfare

– Continuing to serve population in another setting

• What is good enough retention?– Two years?

– Five years?

– Some period of time post payback?


Issues to Think About

• Intent to leave– Precursor of leaving

• Burnout and withdrawal impacts performance and outcomes• How and when should agencies intervene?

– APHSA Workforce Data Collection Field Guide - Cyphers, APHSA– Organizational environment practices – little cost – big pay-off

» Exit interviews» Staff involvement in decision-making» Special awards» Resources – computers, pdas, cars, support staff

• Leadership Changes– Longevity of administrators, changes in governor, etc.

• Commitment and job security - length of contracts and commitment to workers


Strategies to Impact Retention

• Most common – improved training, but does it work – is anyone studying it?

• Most studied -- Title IV-E education for child welfare practice (different models)– Better service outcomes

– Better attitude toward kids and families

– Self-efficacy

– Commitment to the agency

– Feeling valued

– Special job title/position


Workload --- Caseload

• APHSA 2004 study – top reasons for turnover related to caseload/workload.

• Focus on workload – reflects differential patterns of staffing, structure and service delivery.

• Impacts safety, permanency and well-being and CFSR outcomes – gaps identified related to insufficient visits/engagement/assessment.

• Workers leave because they are overwhelmed or they stay and just manage crises.

• HOWEVER, in looking at multivariate analysis of research on recruitment and retention – other factors are more significant than caseload.


14 Components of an Effective CW Workforce (CDF/CR Child Welfare Policy Workgroup)

RECRUITMENT & RETENTION OF A KNOWLEDGEABLE, SKILLED CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE ABLE TO

SUCCESSFULLY DELIVER QUALITY SERVICES AND SUPPORTS TO

VULNERABLE CHILDREN & FAMILIES

POSITIVE EXPERIENCES & OUTCOMES FOR

CHILDREN & FAMILIES

COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED SERVICES

FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES

EFFECTIVE STEWARDSHIP

OF PUBLIC FUNDS

EQUITABLE EMPLOYMENT

INCENTIVES

AUTHENTIC CULTURAL

COMPETENCE

SIGNIFICANT FAMILY

& COMMUNITY

CONNECTEDNESS

STRONG &

CONSISTENT

LEADERSHIP

SUPPORTIVE

ORGANIZATIONAL

ENVIRONMENT

MANAGEABLE CASELOADS & WORKLOADS

MEANINGFUL SUPERVISION &

MENTORING QUALITY EDUCATION

& PROFESSIONAL

PREPARATION

COMPETENCY-BASED

TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

TIMELY & ACCURATE

DATA &

INFORMATION

EFFECTIVE QUALITY ASSURANCE

& ACCOUNTABILITY

PRACTICE-ENHANCING

RESEARCH & EVALUATION

USEFUL

TECHNOLOGICAL

RESOURCES

SAFE & SUITABLE WORKING

CONDITIONS


Questions to Ask

• People seeking child welfare employment should ask - Is it what I really want to do?

• Staff selecting applicants for child welfare positions should ask -- Does the candidate have the professional commitment and experience to take on this job and deal with the related stress?

• Child welfare supervisors should ask -- Do I have the knowledge and skills to provide support and case-focused supervision to my staff and do I have support from my superiors?

• Agency administrators should ask -- Does the agency provide the necessary supports—supervisory, career ladder, working environment – that will attract workers and keep them at the agency?

• Universities, especially social work education programs, should ask -- Can we strengthen our partnership with state and local child welfare agencies to provide education and training to current and prospective staff and to develop and implement research and program evaluation efforts that can help to guide agency practices?


Promising Practices

• Ready pool of new hires • Legislate/regulate workload size – require response• Collaboration between child welfare and human

resources• Raise staffing standards• Strengthen agency/university education/research

partnership• Embed pre-service in child welfare curricula in schools

of social work• Stakeholder design and implementation teams


Implications for University/Agency Partnerships

• Recognize that recruitment and retention are influenced by the intersection of multiple factors and impact service and client outcomes.

• Schools of social work are uniquely positioned to support improved agency outcomes (research, analysis, evaluation, consultation, technical assistance).

• Title IV-E educational preparation and training are only part of what needs to be done.

• Implementation and sustainability are major issues – how can the university help?

• Universities have multiple roles for greater engagement with agencies and service delivery improvements.

• Develop research-based briefs to address workforce policy improvements.


Recommendations • Develop a process to rigorously and regularly evaluate retention

strategies being implemented (APHSA survey – in-service training improvement most common).

• Encourage Title IV-E education for child welfare practice programs to use similar measures, methods and instruments in evaluation and research and follow IV-E graduates career trajectories.

• Develop multi-site, multi-year initiatives to test intervention strategies across agencies and settings.

• Create research efforts to develop, test and validate instruments and measures.

• Create a clearinghouse to regularly gather, track and analyze studies and provide information to impact workforce policies and decision-making.

• Support longitudinal evaluation efforts.


R & R Research Resources

• Factors Influencing Retention of Child Welfare Staff: A Systematic Review of Research, Zlotnik, DePanfilis, Daining & Lane (2005) -- Available at www.iaswresearch.org. Supported by a Grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Human Services Workforce Initiative

• IASWR Child Welfare Workforce Initiative– www.iaswresearch.org

• IV-E Child Welfare University Agency Partnershipshttp://www.uky.edu/SocialWork/cswe/

• Child Welfare Workforce Policy Workgroup convened by CDF/CR and funded through Cornerstones for Kids http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/CW_Workforce_Report_2.pdf?docID=3563 and http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_CWMH_Workforce_Improvements

• Child Welfare Workforce and Training Resources http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/workforce/


Resources continued

• Report from the 2004 Child Welfare Workforce Survey: State Agency Findings (February 2005) – available from http://www.aphsa.org/Home/Doc/WFExecutiveSummary.pdf

• NASW Center for Workforce Studies - http://workforce.socialworkers.org/

• Cornerstones for Kids (AECF Human Services Workforce Initiative) – www.cornerstones4kids.org.


About IASWR

• IASWR Listserv Announcements• Website – www.iaswresearch.org• IASWResearch…Reports…Resources• Participation in social science coalitions• Develop connections to research funders• Communicate social work research contributions• IASWR Child Welfare Workforce Initiative• Social Work Reinvestment Initiative –

www.socialworkreinvestment.org

Documents

INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH 1 A National Overview of Recruitment and Retention of Child Welfare Workers: Lessons from Research