Measuring organizational effectiveness to develop strategies to promote retention in public child welfare

Public child welfare agencies are under pressure to improve organizational, practice and client outcomes. Related to all of these outcomes is the retention of staff. Employee intent to remain employed may be used as a proxy for actual retention. In this study public child welfare staff in one Midwestern state were surveyed using the Survey of Organizational Excellence (Lauderdale, 1999) and the Intent to Remain Employed (Ellett, Ellett, & Rugutt, 2003) scales to assess the extent to which constructs such as perceptions of organizational culture, communication and other areas of organizational effectiveness were associated with intent to remain employed. A number of statistically significant relationships were identified which were presented to the public agency for use in the development of strategies for organizational improvement. Data were also analyzed regionally and based on urban/suburban/rural status to enable development of targeted approaches. This case study presents an example of how ongoing measurement of organizational effectiveness can be used as a strategy for organizational improvement over time in the child welfare system.     

The organizational structure of child welfare: Staff are working hard,but it is hardly working

Child welfare has been overseen, litigated, reviewed, and chastised by those internal to the system and those who have never faced a traumatized child or an abusive parent. The work of child welfare occurs within organizations, generally large, public sector agencies. Literature has paid little attention to the organizational structure or staffing patterns of the agencies mandated to serve vulnerable children and families. This article explores the challenges facing child welfare and ponders the notion that the structure of public child welfare agencies has developed in response to internal and external factors. The resulting organizational structure may not be the best to support the myriad of mandates that child welfare must achieve.     

NCWWI Tribal Traineeship Programs: Promoting Diversity in the Child Welfare Workforce

Twelve universities and one American Indian (AI) tribal college were selected for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute’s 5-year stipend traineeship program. These tribal traineeships were designed to provide social work child welfare education for tribal and nontribal students. Twenty-two AI students and 58 nontribal students completed a bachelor or master’s of social work degree. The students’ field placements were in tribal agencies or public agencies that served a segment of the AI population. These programs were enhanced through the use of valuable relationships (i.e., partnerships, mentorships, allies), and cultural competence was a key aspect of the students’ education. The students’ education was enriched with a specific child welfare curriculum, cultural teachings, tribal traineeship collaborations, and tribal community events.     

New directions for research on the organizational and institutional context of child welfare agencies: Introduction to the symposium on “The Organizational and Managerial Context of Private Child Welfare Agencies”

This paper argues for a conceptual reorientation to research and practice that emphasizes the prominence of institutional and organizational factors in the lives of those who are involved in child welfare systems. Current child welfare reform efforts are premised on the idea that agencies—their structures, management, and internal approaches to organizing their workforce and frontline services—may be influential drivers of and barriers to innovation in practice and policy. We unpack this premise by providing an introduction to the institutional and organizational context of child welfare practice that highlights the diverse contexts and contributions of public and private child welfare agencies. We then review five domains for future research and present examples of studies that might be undertaken. The paper concludes by introducing the symposium papers and identifying their contributions to child welfare and human service research.     

Evaluating child welfare training in public agencies: status and prospects

Although staff training in public child welfare agencies is thought to be a critical component of effective practice, little is known about the delivery and effectiveness of training interventions. Few evaluations are published in the literature and it is uncertain how much evaluation activity is being conducted and utilized. This study collected data from 48 public child welfare agencies in the United States regarding the conduct of training evaluation and the utilization of training data. The data are discussed within the context of planning the next steps for public agencies’ efforts in training evaluation.     

Promoting supervisory practice change in public child welfare: lessons from university/agency collaborative research in four states

This article describes qualitative findings regarding lessons learned from research and demonstration projects in four states focused on the implementation of clinical supervision within their public child welfare agencies. This was part of a larger mixed methods study of the effectiveness of these new clinical supervision models on practice, organizational, and client outcomes. Themes from 15 focus groups with frontline supervisors participating in the projects are provided; they focused on the challenges experienced while participating and working to use clinical supervision techniques, recommendations regarding implementing such projects in the public child welfare environment, and those aspects of the implementation that were most effective in supporting their work. These themes provide direction for states and localities wishing to shift frontline supervision to a more clinical model within the public child welfare setting.     

The mediating role of inclusion: A longitudinal study of the effects of leader–member exchange and diversity climate on job satisfaction and intention to leave among child welfare workers

Due to increasing diversity among clients and workers in the public child welfare] sector, it is essential to understand how workforce diversity can be channeled into positive organizational outcomes. Using theories of symbolic interaction, reference groups, and social identity, we tested a conceptual model of the relationships between diversity characteristics, leader–member exchange, diversity climate, perception of inclusion, and job satisfaction and intention to leave among public child welfare workers. The current study used two waves of data from 363 employees of a large urban public child welfare agency in the western United States. Path analysis results indicate that leader–member exchange and diversity climate have a positive effect on job satisfaction through inclusion, and that a positive organizational diversity climate can lower intention to leave through both inclusion and job satisfaction. Findings illustrate how organizational climates of diversity and inclusion affect both job satisfaction and intention to leave, providing insight into organizational factors that can be targeted for workplace interventions.     

A recent look at the factors influencing workforce retention in public child welfare

Consistency of services to children and their families continues to be an ongoing problem in public child welfare agencies. Worker turnover is high, thus affecting the availability of a well trained, experienced workforce. It is critical that we continue to explore the factors associated with worker turnover and retention in public child welfare agencies. Such knowledge will allow us to determine the needs of workers, administrators, and the agency in general, in an effort to create an environment that will result in worker retention, and a better quality of services. Children and their families will be major benefactors of such knowledge as the consistency and quality of services will be enhanced. Existing research has found that outcomes for families and children are affected by the workload and training of frontline workers, and organizational characteristics (GAO, 2003, NASW, 2004, and Milner, 2003). This study describes personal and organizational factors relative to worker retention for public child welfare workers in the northwest corridor of Georgia.     

Animal-human relationships in child protective services: getting a baseline

Inclusion of certain aspects of animal-human relationships (AHR), such as animal abuse and animal-assisted interventions, can enhance child welfare practice and there are resources available to promote such inclusion. However, there is little knowledge of whether this is being accomplished. This study sought to fill this gap by conducting a national survey of state public child welfare agencies to examine AHR in child protective services practice, their assessment tools, and cross-reporting policies.     

Public child welfare workers' perception of efficacy relative to multicultural awareness,knowledge and skills

Maintaining a well trained pool of workers in public child welfare agencies continues to be an ongoing problem. Research suggests that it is critical that we continue to explore the factors associated with worker efficacy. Existing research has found that outcomes for families and children are affected by numerous individual and organizational characteristics including worker's perceived efficacy (Advancement of Social Work Research, 2005; Bernotavicz, 2007; Collier, 2007; Ellett, 2007; Government Accountability Office, 2003; Milner, 2003). This study describes public child welfare workers, and their perceptions of efficacy relative to multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills. Study outcomes have implications for worker training, supervision, and curriculum on child welfare.     

Emerging strategies for reducing racial disproportionality and disparate outcomes in child welfare: the results of a national breakthrough series collaborative

Racial disproportionality in child welfare has been discussed as a seemingly intractable challenge with complex contributing factors. Some argue that these dynamics are far too difficult to be significantly impacted by public child welfare systems alone. The Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) methodology, incorporating an analysis of structural racism and potential system bias, was proffered as a tool for engaging public child welfare agencies in a rapid, action-oriented process for identifying innovative strategies and practices to reduce racial disproportionality and disparate outcomes. This article describes the Disproportionality BSC process, as well as the work of participating jurisdictions with respect to transforming organizational culture and testing/implementing child welfare practice improvements. A theory of change is presented and critical lessons learned are shared in the form of collaborative reflections.     

Private child and family serving agencies: Implications of national survey results for policy and managerial practice

The national studies represented in this symposium provide the field with greater understanding of the nature of the private sector's role in child welfare and the complex interrelationships among organizational characteristics, inter-organizational dynamics, and external influences. Research findings from symposium papers are examined through the lens of a private agency manager and implications are derived for managerial practice and policy practice both within the private agency and in relation to public/private child welfare partnerships. Key managerial competencies that may be required to move agencies and the sector towards enhanced organizational performance and child welfare outcomes are discussed.     

Addressing the impact of trauma before diagnosing mental illness in child welfare

Congress set requirements for child welfare agencies to respond to emotional trauma associated with child maltreatment and removal. In meeting these requirements, agencies should develop policies that address child trauma. To assist in policy development, this study analyzes more than 14,000 clinical assessments from child welfare in Illinois. Based on the analysis, the study recommends child welfare agencies adopt policies requiring that (1) mental health screenings and assessments of all youth in child welfare include measures of traumatic events and trauma-related symptoms; (2) evidence-based, trauma-focused treatment begin when a youth in child welfare demonstrates a trauma-related symptom; and (3) a clinician not diagnose a youth in child welfare with a mental illness without first addressing the impact of trauma. The study also raises the issue of treatment reimbursement based on diagnosis.     

Empirical Studies of Child Welfare Training Effectiveness: Methods and Outcomes

Although public child welfare agencies, as well as contracted private providers, conduct extensive amounts of training, the evaluation evidence for effectiveness of training interventions is sparse. This article provides a critical review of published reports of the child welfare training evaluation literature. When we conducted a search of the literature published since 1990, 14 articles met the criteria for inclusion. These articles are reviewed according to: training audience, training duration, research design, sample size, outcome measures, and reported results. Our conclusions identify strengths and weaknesses in evaluation approaches to date and suggest strategies for enhancing the evidence base of this core intervention in child welfare.     

Child welfare agency climate influence on worker commitment

This research focuses on understanding the relationship of organizational climate to commitment for child welfare workers in private, non-governmental organizations. Commitment is measured as a latent construct of agency investment derived from Landsman's study (2001). Agency investment includes measures of workers' time, cost, and emotional difficulty for changing their line of work. Organizational climate is embedded in Parker et al. (2003) modification of James and colleagues' theory of primary domains of work environment perceptions. Parker's Psychological Climate survey measured organizational climate. Four hundred forty-one workers in three not-for-profit agencies under contract with the public child welfare system were sampled. Autonomy, Challenge and Innovation were significantly associated with agency investment. This indicates that worker perceptions of having job autonomy, the job being challenging, and the organization as innovative predict greater job commitment.     

Sharing the Baton,Not Passing It: Collaboration between Public and Private Child Welfare Agencies to Reunify Families

ABSTRACT

Increasingly, public sector child welfare agencies are contracting with private agencies for the provision of specialized services to clients while maintaining oversight and case management responsibilities. At the same time, funders, both private and public, are demanding that service providers partner and collaborate with one another. In this article, we present results from a study of a unique partnership between two state child welfare agencies and a private child welfare agency aimed at reunifying families whose children have been removed and placed in foster care. Data was obtained from 41 key informants using a questionnaire and a structured interview. Findings support earlier studies of collaboration, and indicate the strengths of this partnership and factors that facilitated and hindered it. The results have implications for agencies that both contract for and provide a range of child welfare services as well as other interagency relationships.     

Professional development opportunities as retention incentives in child welfare

This study examined the career paths of 415 Title IV-E MSW graduates in one state retrospectively over 180 months post-graduation to discover factors that could be important in affecting retention in public child welfare agencies. The Title IV-E educational program is designed to be a retention strategy at the same time as it is a professionalization strategy. We surmised that perceived organizational support (POS) contributes to retention by acknowledging the workers' needs for career development support. The median survival time for these child welfare social workers was 43 months for the first job and 168 months for the entire child welfare career. The initial analysis showed steep drops in retention occurred at 24–36 months post-graduation, approximately at the end of the Title IV-E work obligation. Upon further examination, Kaplan–Meier tests showed organizational factors relevant to workers' professional career development predicted retention. Having access to continuing education and agency-supported case-focused supervision for licensure were correlated with retention at the 24–36 month post-graduation mark. At 72 months post-graduation, promotion to supervisor was a significant factor found to encourage retention. Being a field instructor for MSW students and being promoted to a managerial position were not significantly related to retention.     

Issues in European child protection research

This paper considers the issues which emerged from studies relating to child protection in Europe and looks at the value and utility of cross-national comparisons in this field of social welfare. In one study, social workers in eight systems of child welfare took part in a study of practice based on a case vignette. In another, parents in three countries described their experience of child welfare interventions. The paper looks at elements of the structuring and functioning of child welfare and child protection, based on a triangulation of the experience of users and the experience of practitioners. Drawing examples from the research, the author considers how a knowledge of structures, culture and ideology can throw light on the functioning of child welfare services.     

Examining risk,strengths, and functioning of foster families: Implications for strengths-based practice

ABSTRACT

Foster families provide safe and stable homes for children and youth who are removed from their homes due to maltreatment. Despite the stressors associated with bringing children in and out of a family’s home, many maintain healthy family functioning and continue fostering for many years serving an essential function in the child welfare system. This study sought to understand the factors that explained higher levels of family functioning within foster families. Collaborating with one statewide public child welfare agency, 681 licensed foster parents participated in an online survey that examined the association between family functioning with family strengths and risk factors. Findings from this study can inform strengths-based practice including training, assessment, and interventions for new and existing foster families to strengthen families and improve the well-being of children and youth in their care.