Child Welfare
Workforce Fast Facts A
stable and highly skilled child welfare workforce
is necessary to effectively
provide child welfare
services that meet federal goals. [However,] large caseloads
and worker turnover delay the timeliness
of investigations and limit the frequency of worker visits
with children, hampering agencies’ attainment
of some key federal safety and permanency outcomes. U.S. General Accounting
Office (GAO), 2003 Overview
- Ninety (90) percent of states reported having
difficulty in recruiting and retaining child welfare workers. (GAO,
1995)
- Challenges to recruitment and retention include:
low salaries; high caseloads/workloads; administrative
burdens; risk of violence; limited or inadequate supervision;
and insufficient training. (GAO,
2003)
Worker Turnover
- Turnover of child welfare workers is estimated
to be between 30 and 40 percent annually nationwide. Rates
range from a low of zero percent to a high of 600 percent. (GAO,
2003)
- The average tenure of child welfare workers
is less than two years. As a result, supervisors often
have only three years of experience. (GAO,
2003)
- States estimate that 60 percent of turnover
is preventable. (Alliance
for Children and Families (ACF), American Public Human
Services Association (APHSA), Child Welfare League
of America (CWLA), 2001)
- Turnover is consistently higher in states
that do not require any kind of degree for child welfare
positions and consistently lower in states that require
a master’s degree in social work (MSW). (Russell,
1987)
- In Florida,
staff without educational preparation for child welfare
work are most likely to leave within one year of being
hired.
(CWLA, 1990)
- More than 80 percent of child welfare workers
who stay at their jobs beyond two years have completed
at least one social work degree. (Cicero-Reese,
1998)
Caseload/Workload
- The average caseload for child welfare workers
is between 24 and31 children. Caseloads range from 10 to
100 children per worker. (ACF,
APHSA, CWLA, 2001)
- CWLA recommends caseloads of between 12 and
15 children per worker. The Council on Accreditation recommends
that caseloads not exceed 18 children per worker.
- Caseloads are
high, but workloads are even higher due to the
growing complexity of each case. Substance abuse most
often occurs
with a finding of abuse or neglect, but mental illness,
domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, other poverty-related problems
are also
often present.
Safety/Risk of Violence
Seventy (70) percent of front-line caseworkers
have been victims of violence or received threats of
violence. (American
Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME), 1998)
-
One state found that 90 percent of its child
protective services employees had experienced verbal
threats; 30 percent experienced physical attacks; and
13 percent were threatened with weapons. (GAO,
2003)
Salaries
The average annual salary for public agency
workers is $33,000. The average annual salary for private agency
staff is $27,000. (ACF,
APHSA, CWLA, 2001)
-
Child welfare workers’ salaries are significantly
lower than salaries for employees in safer and more supportive
work environments, such as teachers, school counselors,
nurses, and public-health social workers. (GAO,
2003)
Qualifications
Only 28 percent of child welfare staff hold
either bachelor’s degrees in social work (BSW) (15 percent)
or master’s degrees in social work (MSW) (13 percent). (Lieberman,
1988)
- Fewer than 15 percent of child welfare agencies
require caseworkers to hold either BSWs or MSWs. (CWLA,
1999)
- The National Association of Social Workers
(NASW), CWLA, and others recommend that child
welfare administrators and supervisors have MSWs
and previous
child welfare experience, and that direct service
workers have, at least, BSWs.
- Education, specifically holding an MSW, appears
to be the best predictor of overall performance in social
service work. (Booz-Allen & Hamilton,
Inc., 1987)
-
Child welfare staff with BSW and MSW degrees
were found to be more effective in developing successful
permanency plans for children who were in foster care
for more than two years. (Albers,
1993).
Education and Training
- There are two major federal funding sources
for improving the child welfare workforce: the Title
IV-B, Section 426 child welfare training program and
Title IV-E training.
-
Title IV-B provides discretionary grants
to public and private nonprofit institutions of higher
education for full-time or part-time training programs.
FY 2003 funding: $7 million.
-
Title IV-E provides an enhanced federal match
of 75 percent to fund training programs for both current
and prospective child welfare staff. In FY 2001, 49 states
received a total of $276 million in Title IV-E training
reimbursements. The median reimbursement was $3.1 million
and ranged from $1,400 in Wyoming
to $59 million in California. (GAO, 2003)
-
University-Agency Child Welfare Training
Partnerships, funded under Title IV-E, were found by
GAO to have a positive impact on child welfare agencies’ ability
to recruit and retain child welfare staff. Today, partnerships
exist in more than 40 states, and use more than $50 million
to prepare workers for the challenges of child welfare
service delivery. (GAO,
2003)
National Association
of Social Workers - August 2003 REFERENCES Albers, E., Reilly, T. & Rittner,
B. (1993). Children in foster care: Possible factors affecting
permanency planning. Child and Adolescent Social Work
Journal, 10(4). Alliance for Children and Families,
American Public Human Services Association, Child Welfare
League of America. (2001. May). The child welfare workforce
challenge: Results from a preliminary study. Paper
presented at Finding Better Ways 2001, Dallas. American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees. (1998). Double jeopardy:
Caseworkers at risk helping at-risk children: A report
on the working conditions facing child welfare workers. (Available
from AFSCME, 1625 L Street, NW, Washington, DC20036-5687) Cicero-Reese, B. & Black,
P. (1998). Research Suggests Why Child Welfare Workers
Stay on the Job. Partnerships for Child Welfare, 5(5). Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc.
(1987). The Maryland Social Services Job Analysis
and Personnel Qualifications Study, Executive Summary. Baltimore:
Maryland Department of Human Resources. Child Welfare League of America.
(1990). Florida Recruitment and Retention Study. (Available
from CWLA, 440 First Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington,
DC 20001-2085) Child Welfare League of America.
(1999). Minimum Education Required by State Child Welfare
Agencies, Percent, By Degree Type, State Child Welfare
Agency Survey. (Available from CWLA, 440 First Street,
NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC20001-2085) Lieberman, A. A., Hornby, H., & Russell,
M. (1988). Analyzing the Educational Backgrounds and Work
Experiences of Child Welfare Personnel: A National Study. Social
Work, 33(6). Russell, M. (1987). 1987
National Study of Public Child Welfare Job Requirements. Portland,
ME: University of Southern Maine, National ResourceCenter
for Management and Administration. U.S. General Accounting Office.
(1995). Child Welfare: Complex Needs Strain Capacity
to Provide Services (GAO/HEHS-95-208). (Available at www.gao.gov) U.S. General Accounting
Office. (2003). HHS Could Play a Greater Role in Helping
Child Welfare Agencies Recruit and Retain Staff (GAO-03-357).
(Available at www.gao.gov) |
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