Transcript Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research

Institute for the Advancement of Social
Work 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]
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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.
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Making Workforce
Improvement a Priority
• Growing recognition that there is a crisis related to child welfare
workforce.
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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
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Documenting the Problem
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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=rese
arch_CWMH_Workforce_Improvements
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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:
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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
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Staff Turnover and Child Abuse
• Recently released study comparing California counties
• High functioning counties
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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
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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.
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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?
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Addressing the Problem
Casey
Human
Services Workforce
Initiative
Enhance understanding
of the problem and
identify and implement
solutions
Campbell Collaboration/
Consultation
IASWR
Factors
Influencing
Retention
of Child
Welfare
Staff:
A
Systematic
Review
of Research
Systematic Review
Method & Structure
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•Connecting
research
and practice
•Expertise,
knowledge and
access
Univ. of Maryland School
of Social Work IHSP &
Center for Families
•Expertise
•Infrastructure
•Access to references
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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
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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
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What Strategies and Conditions Influence the
Retention of Staff in Public Child Welfare?
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
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Strategy:
Title IV-E
Professional
Education Prog.
+ BSW
+ MSW
+ Degree Ed for
workers
IMPROVED
RETENTION
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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
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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
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Retention Factors
• Organizational factors
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Quality supervision
Manageable workload
Peer support
Feeling valued
Opportunities for advancement
Safety and resource availability
Salary and benefits – people who leave make more $$
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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.
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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?
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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
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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)
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Better service outcomes
Better attitude toward kids and families
Self-efficacy
Commitment to the agency
Feeling valued
Special job title/position
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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.
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14 Components of an Effective CW Workforce
(CDF/CR Child Welfare Policy Workgroup)
SUPPORTIVE
MANAGEABLE
CASELOADS & WORKLOADS
ORGANIZATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT
MEANINGFUL
SUPERVISION &
MENTORING
RECRUITMENT & RETENTION OF A
KNOWLEDGEABLE, SKILLED CHILD
WELFARE WORKFORCE ABLE TO
SUCCESSFULLY DELIVER QUALITY
SERVICES AND SUPPORTS TO
VULNERABLE CHILDREN & FAMILIES
STRONG &
CONSISTENT
LEADERSHIP
SIGNIFICANT
FAMILY
&
COMMUNITY
POSITIVE EXPERIENCES &
OUTCOMES FOR
CHILDREN & FAMILIES
CONNECTEDNESS
COMPREHENSIVE,
INTEGRATED SERVICES
FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH &
FAMILIES
AUTHENTIC
CULTURAL
COMPETENCE
EQUITABLE
EMPLOYMENT
INCENTIVES
SAFE & SUITABLE
WORKING
CONDITIONS
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EFFECTIVE
STEWARDSHIP
OF
PUBLIC FUNDS
USEFUL
TECHNOLOGICAL
RESOURCES
QUALITY EDUCATION
& PROFESSIONAL
PREPARATION
COMPETENCYBASED
TRAINING &
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
TIMELY &
ACCURATE
DATA
&
INFORMATION
PRACTICEENHANCING
RESEARCH &
EVALUATION
EFFECTIVE
QUALITY ASSURANCE
& ACCOUNTABILITY
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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?
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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
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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.
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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.
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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 Partnerships
http://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/
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Resources continued
• Report from the 2004 Child Welfare Workforce Survey:
State Agency Findings (February 2005) – available from
http://www.aphsa.org/Home/Doc/WFExecutiveSummar
y.pdf
• NASW Center for Workforce Studies http://workforce.socialworkers.org/
• Cornerstones for Kids (AECF Human Services
Workforce Initiative) – www.cornerstones4kids.org.
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About IASWR
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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
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