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Job satisfaction in a stable state child welfare workforce: Implications for staff retention

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  • Strand, Virginia C.
  • Dore, Martha Morrison

Abstract

The findings of this study build on and extend previous research on factors that contribute to job satisfaction in public child welfare agencies. Because the study agency has stabilized its workforce, it provides a unique opportunity to examine other organizational and environmental factors that may make a more subtle, yet just as deleterious contribution to staff dissatisfaction. Based on survey responses from 927 respondents, five research questions were addressed: 1) How does job satisfaction compare to staff in other human service organizations nationally? 2. Are differences in staff characteristics related to job satisfaction? 3. Are there particular areas of job difficulty that predict job satisfaction? 4. Are there differences by job category in job satisfaction? 5. What staff or job-related factors predict job satisfaction overall? Study findings were consistent with others that have examined organizational dynamics, particularly role stressors, supervision, and performance recognition and rewards. Results indicate that length of employment, being a supervisor, and experiencing difficulties with working conditions, supervision, and the lack of external client resources predict the highest levels of job dissatisfaction. Implications for public child welfare organizations are discussed, including strategies for attending to those organizational factors that negatively affect employees' perceptions of organizational support.

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  • Strand, Virginia C. & Dore, Martha Morrison, 2009. "Job satisfaction in a stable state child welfare workforce: Implications for staff retention," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 391-397, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:31:y:2009:i:3:p:391-397
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    1. Curry, Dale & McCarragher, Timothy & Dellmann-Jenkins, Mary, 2005. "Training, transfer, and turnover: Exploring the relationship among transfer of learning factors and staff retention in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 931-948, August.
    2. Smith, Brenda D., 2005. "Job retention in child welfare: Effects of perceived organizational support, supervisor support, and intrinsic job value," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 153-169, February.
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    1. Li, Yong & Huang, Hui, 2017. "Validating the Job Satisfaction Survey in voluntary child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 1-8.
    2. Augsberger, Astraea & Schudrich, Wendy & McGowan, Brenda G. & Auerbach, Charles, 2012. "Respect in the workplace: A mixed methods study of retention and turnover in the voluntary child welfare sector," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1222-1229.
    3. Auerbach, Charles & McGowan, Brenda G. & Ausberger, Astraea & Strolin-Goltzman, Jessica & Schudrich, Wendy, 2010. "Differential factors influencing public and voluntary child welfare workers' intention to leave," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1396-1402, October.
    4. McCrae, Julie S. & Scannapieco, Maria & Obermann, Ann, 2015. "Retention and job satisfaction of child welfare supervisors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 171-176.
    5. Kruzich, Jean M. & Mienko, Joseph A. & Courtney, Mark E., 2014. "Individual and work group influences on turnover intention among public child welfare workers: The effects of work group psychological safety," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 20-27.
    6. Zeitlin, Wendy & Chakravarty, Sreyashi & Lawrence, Catherine & DeCristofano, Angela, 2019. "Direct practice contact: Predicting frontline child welfare workers' time with clients," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 9-15.
    7. Li, Yong & Huang, Hui & Chen, Yi-Yi, 2020. "Organizational climate, job satisfaction, and turnover in voluntary child welfare workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Chung, Youngsoon & Choo, Hyekyung, 2019. "A structural path to job satisfaction, burnout, and intent to leave among child protection workers: A South Korean study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 304-312.
    9. Carpenter, John & Webb, Caroline M. & Bostock, Lisa, 2013. "The surprisingly weak evidence base for supervision: Findings from a systematic review of research in child welfare practice (2000–2012)," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 1843-1853.
    10. Claiborne, Nancy & Auerbach, Charles & Lawrence, Catherine & Schudrich, Wendy Zeitlin, 2013. "Organizational change: The role of climate and job satisfaction in child welfare workers' perception of readiness for change," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2013-2019.
    11. Schudrich, Wendy Zeitlin & Liao, Aries & Lawrence, Catherine & Auerbach, Charles & Gomes, Anne-Marie & Fernandes, Gretta & McGowan, Brenda & Claiborne, Nancy, 2013. "Intention to leave in social workers and educators employed in voluntary child welfare agencies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 657-663.
    12. Lee, Joohee & Forster, Michael & Rehner, Tim, 2011. "The retention of public child welfare workers: The roles of professional organizational culture and coping strategies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 102-109, January.
    13. Scannapieco, Maria & Hegar, Rebecca L. & Connell-Carrick, Kelli, 2012. "Professionalization in public child welfare: Historical context and workplace outcomes for social workers and non-social workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 2170-2178.
    14. Radey, Melissa & Stanley, Lauren, 2018. "“Hands on” versus “empty”: Supervision experiences of frontline child welfare workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 128-136.
    15. Lushin, Victor & Katz, Colleen C. & Julien-Chinn, Francie J. & Lalayants, Marina, 2023. "A burdened workforce: Exploring burnout, job satisfaction and turnover among child welfare caseworkers in the era of COVID-19," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    16. Clark, Sherrill J. & Smith, Richard J. & Uota, Kazumi, 2013. "Professional development opportunities as retention incentives in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 1687-1697.
    17. Kim, HaeJung & Hopkins, Karen M., 2017. "The quest for rural child welfare workers: How different are they from their urban counterparts in demographics, organizational climate, and work attitudes?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 291-297.
    18. Auerbach, Charles & Zeitlin, Wendy & Augsberger, Astraea & Lawrence, Catherine K. & Claiborne, Nancy, 2016. "Societal factors impacting child welfare: Re-validating the Perceptions of Child Welfare Scale," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 65-71.
    19. Johnco, Carly & Salloum, Alison & Olson, Kayla R. & Edwards, LaTishia M., 2014. "Child Welfare Workers’ Perspectives on Contributing Factors to Retention and Turnover: Recommendations for Improvement," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(P3), pages 397-407.
    20. Strand, Virginia C. & Spath, Robin & Bosco-Ruggiero, Stephanie, 2010. "So you have a stable child welfare workforce -- What's next?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 338-345, March.
    21. Burns, Desirée D. & Langenderfer-Magruder, Lisa & Yelick, Anna & Wilke, Dina J., 2023. "What else is there to say? Reflections of newly-hired child welfare workers by retention status," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).

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