cswe child welfare symposium-2003 1 child welfare workforce retention research in new york state new...
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CSWE Child Welfare Symposium-20031
Child Welfare Workforce Child Welfare Workforce Retention Research in New Retention Research in New York StateYork State
New York State Social Work Education Consortium
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Study Team MembersStudy Team Members
Social Work Education ConsortiumNYS Office of Children and Family Services
NYS Deans Association
Commissioners
UniversityFaculty and Students
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Project HistoryProject History
OCFS Turnover SurveyCommissioners in counties with turnover
over 25% meetCommissioners request a studyConsortium agrees to lead the study
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Study Objectives Study Objectives
Use a participatory approach to create knowledge to strengthen the child welfare workforce
Help managers develop effective approaches to recruit and retain workers
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County CharacteristicsCounty Characteristics
Population: 31,582 - 1,419,369FY 2000 Child Abuse Reports: 400 -
8,569Indicated Reports: 78 - 2,820Workforce size: 18 - 279Beginning Salary: $23,446 - $35,805Average salary: $25,595 - $43,639
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Participatory (Action) ResearchParticipatory (Action) Research
11 schools of participatory researchEach is grounded in
– Different traditions– Different philosophical and psychological
assumptions– Different political goals
(Reason and Bradbury, 2001)In all the research process is participative,
grounded in experience, action oriented
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Study ApproachStudy Approach
Value the expertise and contributions of faculty, county commissioners, state policy and program staff, and students
Respect, trust, and communicate
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Process Process
Research team meetingsOngoing and regular feed back from all
partners Consensus building
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ProcessProcess
Travel to counties to present the survey in person
Travel to counties to present and discuss initial findings
Meetings with commissioners to plan next steps of the study
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Benefits of the processBenefits of the process
Commissioners feel ownership of the study findings
Commissioners are committed to future steps
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Challenges of the processChallenges of the process
TimeTruly incorporating participants views
resulted in scientific compromisesUncertain implications of team-member
turnover
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DemographicsDemographics
696 child welfare workers in all participating counties
409 child welfare workers participated in the study
59% of workers participated in the study
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Race of ParticipantsRace of Participants African American 3.0%
Hispanic 2.3 %
American Indian 0.3 %
2 or More Races 1.5 %
Pacific Islander 0.3%
Asian 0.5%
Caucasian 91.3%
Other 1.0%
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Gender of ParticipantsGender of Participants
Female81.9%
Male18.1%
Female Male
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Age of ParticipantsAge of Participants
Average age of Participants is 39.8 years
Average age of Supervisors is 44.3 years
Average age of Workers is 38.2 years
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Age Brackets of Supervisors and WorkersAge Brackets of Supervisors and Workers
7.4
29.7
25.926.5
32.1
22.9
30.9
19
3.72
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Perc
ent
22-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69
Supervisors (n= 81) Workers (n = 306)
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Years in Child WelfareYears in Child Welfare
Mean number of years is 8.5Half of the participants have worked less than 5.8 years; half have worked more than 5.8 years. The median number of years worked by participants is 5.8Time in Child Welfare ranged from 1 month to 40 years
18CSWE Child Welfare Symposium-2003
Average Years in Child WelfareAverage Years in Child Welfare
Average Years
15.5
6.58.4
4.2 3.2 3.4
15.3
5.47.4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Supervisors Workers All
Nu
mb
er o
f Y
ears
Child Welfare Current job Current agency
19CSWE Child Welfare Symposium-2003
Median Years in Child WelfareMedian Years in Child Welfare
Median Years
13.5
4.5 5.82.2 2.0 2.0
14.3
3.4 4.7
02
46
810
1214
16
Supervisors Workers All
Nu
mb
er o
f Y
ears
Child Welfare Current job Current agency
20CSWE Child Welfare Symposium-2003
Annual Salary RangeAnnual Salary Range * * 2 participants reported a salary of less than $20,000.2 participants reported a salary of less than $20,000.
Annual Participant Salary*
20.9
18.4
6.6
00
1.3
16.4
54.1
28.3
11.5
25.2
32.3
18.112.5
53.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
20,001 - 25,000
25,001 - 30,000
30,001 - 35,000
35,001 - 45,000
45,001 +
Salary
Per
cen
t
All Non, Small or Med. SMSA Large SMSA
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Satisfaction with Salary Satisfaction with Salary and Benefitsand Benefits
Participant Satisfaction of Salary and Benefits
22.2
45.1
20
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Satisfied with Salary Satisfied with Benefits Satisfied with PromotionOpportunities
Pe
rce
nt
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Annual Household IncomeAnnual Household Income 15.4% of participants in all counties combined hold more than one job 15.4% of participants in all counties combined hold more than one job
Household Income - All Counties
27.227.224.2
17
4.4
05
1015202530
15,001 - 25,000
25,001 - 35,000
35,001 - 50,000
50,001 - 70,000
70,001 +
Income
Pe
rce
nt
CSWE Child Welfare Symposium-200323
Child Caseload SizeChild Caseload Size
Workers in all counties combined reported caseloads ranging from 0 – 400.
Supervisors in all counties combined reported caseloads ranging from 0-1700.
The average number of children in caseloads of supervisors is 165.
The median number of children in caseloads of supervisors is 50.
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Child Caseload Size of WorkersChild Caseload Size of Workers
64.9
0.41.81.8
8.1
15.5
2.1
0.4
4.23.2
3.5
2421.6
1.4 1.1
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0
1-10
11-2
0
21-3
0
31-4
0
41-5
0
51-6
0
61-7
0
71-8
0
81-9
0
91-1
00
101-
125
126-
150
151-
200
201-
300
301-
1700
per
cen
t of R
esp
on
den
ts
All Counties
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Caseload SizeCaseload Size
42.630
0
10
20
30
40
50
# o
f C
hild
ren
Average number Median number
Number of Children in the Caseloads of Workers
All
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Foster Families and Biological Parents Foster Families and Biological Parents
in Caseloads of all participantsin Caseloads of all participants
7
37.9
0
20
40
Ave
rag
e n
um
ber
# of Foster families # of Biological Parents
All Counties
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Supervisor Task BreakdownSupervisor Task Breakdown
Supervision45.3%
paperwork29.9%
Management8.0%
Community Action3.0%
Direct Service8.4%
other2.3%
court3.0%
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Worker Task BreakdownWorker Task Breakdown
paperwork44.1% Supervision
7.4%
Management4.1%
Community Action3.2%
Direct Service30.3%
other3.4%court
7.4%
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Task Breakdown for Workers and Task Breakdown for Workers and Supervisors in All CountiesSupervisors in All Counties
Supervision15.6%
Direct Service25.8%
Management5.0%
paperwork40.6%
Community Action3.1%
other3.3%court
6.6%
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Work ExperienceWork Experience
59
5
42
14
51
6
23
0102030405060
Pe
rce
nt
CPSCourt
Prevention
Adoption
Foster Care
Family Preservation
Other*
Percentage of Respondents with any Experience in Child Welfare Units
*Other category includes: adult services, youth/PINS/JD, day care, income employment, child support, emergency services, foster home finding, homeless services, intake, and out of state.
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Casework as a ChoiceCasework as a Choice
1925
72 72
0
20
40
60
80
Per
cen
t of P
artic
ipan
ts
1st careerchoice
1st full-timejob
step up from lastjob
would makesame choice
All
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Organizational and Organizational and Supervisory Factors Supervisory Factors
Associated with RetentionAssociated with Retention
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Clarity & Coherence of Practice
Life Work Fit
Goal Attainment, Job Satisfaction & Efficacy
Job Supports & Relationships
Technology, Training & Record Keeping
Salaries & Benefits
Organizational FactorsOrganizational Factors
CSWE Child Welfare Symposium-200334
Supervisor Support
Supervisor Competence
Supervisory FactorsSupervisory Factors
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Logistic Regression ModelsLogistic Regression Models
Workers Only –with statistical significance
Higher scores on all Organizational dimensions except salary & benefits reduces the likelihood of considering new job
Higher Score on supervisor support reduces the likelihood of considering a new job.
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Analysis continuedAnalysis continuedA higher score on satisfaction with organizational dimensions consistently reduces the likelihood of considering a new job, even when controlling for salary, caseload size and paperwork
A higher score on supervisor support reduces by 42% the likelihood of considering a new job even when controlling for salary, caseload size and paperwork
A higher score on supervisor knowledge is not related to considering a new job (at a level of statistical significance) when accounting for salary, caseload size and paperwork
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RecommendationsRecommendationsOrganizational characteristics matter to worker’s retention (even when accounting for salary, caseload size and paperwork).
Supervisor Support is important. Strategies to address this are unique to each county.
Interviews to get specific ideas from workers and supervisors regarding specific improvements in their county to improve retention.
Survey low turnover counties to see what the differences and similarities are.