IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v41y2014icp37-44.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An examination of retention and length of employment among public child welfare workers

Author

Listed:
  • Madden, Elissa E.
  • Scannapieco, Maria
  • Painter, Kirsten

Abstract

Using longitudinal data collected over a 10year period from a statewide sample of all new public child welfare caseworkers hired between 2001 and 2010 (N=9195), the present study uses Cox Proportional Hazards Regression analysis to examine personal and organizational factors that affect length of employment among child welfare workers. This study adds to the expanding body of research on factors that impact retention of child welfare workers, as few other studies have explored how personal and organizational factors influence caseworker length of employment. Understanding factors that may influence caseworker retention, and specifically length of employment, is an important next step in understanding the type of caseworkers that agencies should target when hiring, as well as the types of workplace interventions and strategies that should be implemented to help retain caseworkers and move toward achieving a more stable workforce. The findings of this study suggest that a mixture of personal and organizational factors influenced the length of time that child welfare workers remained with the agency. Of the variables evaluated in the models, gender, social work education, Title IV-E involvement, organizational support and job desirability were shown to significantly influence longevity with the agency.

Suggested Citation

  • Madden, Elissa E. & Scannapieco, Maria & Painter, Kirsten, 2014. "An examination of retention and length of employment among public child welfare workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 37-44.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:41:y:2014:i:c:p:37-44
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.02.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740914000681
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.02.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yankeelov, Pamela A. & Barbee, Anita P. & Sullivan, Dana & Antle, Becky F., 2009. "Individual and organizational factors in job retention in Kentucky's child welfare agency," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 547-554, May.
    2. Mor Barak, Michalle E. & Levin, Amy & Nissly, Jan A. & Lane, Christianne J., 2006. "Why do they leave? Modeling child welfare workers' turnover intentions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 548-577, May.
    3. 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.
    4. Chen, Szu-Yu & Scannapieco, Maria, 2010. "The influence of job satisfaction on child welfare worker's desire to stay: An examination of the interaction effect of self-efficacy and supportive supervision," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 482-486, April.
    5. Ellett, Alberta J. & Ellis, Jacquelyn I. & Westbrook, Tonya M. & Dews, Denise', 2007. "A qualitative study of 369 child welfare professionals' perspectives about factors contributing to employee retention and turnover," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 264-281, February.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Shim, Miseung, 2010. "Factors influencing child welfare employee's turnover: Focusing on organizational culture and climate," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 847-856, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Potter, Cathryn C. & Leake, Robin & Longworth-Reed, Laricia & Altschul, Inna & Rienks, Shauna, 2016. "Measuring organizational health in child welfare agencies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 31-39.
    2. Miller, J. Jay & Donohue-Dioh, Jessica & Niu, Chunling & Shalash, Nada, 2018. "Exploring the self-care practices of child welfare workers: A research brief," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 137-142.
    3. Sampson Agyapong Atuahene & XuSheng Qian & Thomas Ahoto Ahotovi, 2024. "Impact of psychological safety and inclusive leadership on online learning satisfaction: the role of organizational support," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Miller, J. Jay & Niu, Chunling & Moody, Shannon, 2020. "Child welfare workers and peritraumatic distress: The impact of COVID-19," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    5. Kothari, Brianne H. & Chandler, Kelly D. & Waugh, Andrew & McElvaine, Kara K. & Jaramillo, Jamie & Lipscomb, Shannon, 2021. "Retention of child welfare caseworkers: The role of case severity and workplace resources," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    6. Belval, Erin J. & Bayham, Jude & Magstadt, Shayne, 2024. "Retention of highly qualified wildland firefighters in the Western United States," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    7. Modderman, Corina & Threlkeld, Guinever & McPherson, Lynne, 2017. "Transnational social workers in statutory child welfare: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 21-28.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Griffiths, Austin & Royse, David & Murphy, April & Jones, Olivia & Culver, Kalee & Turner, James & Smajlovic, Alma, 2023. "Exploratory factor analysis and reliability of the Child Welfare Employee Feedback Scale: Further revision (CWEFS-R)," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Griffiths, Austin & Royse, David & Culver, Kalee & Piescher, Kristine & Zhang, Yanchen, 2017. "Who stays, who goes, who knows? A state-wide survey of child welfare workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 110-117.
    4. 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.
    5. Potter, Cathryn C. & Leake, Robin & Longworth-Reed, Laricia & Altschul, Inna & Rienks, Shauna, 2016. "Measuring organizational health in child welfare agencies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 31-39.
    6. Schelbe, Lisa & Radey, Melissa & Panisch, Lisa S., 2017. "Satisfactions and stressors experienced by recently-hired frontline child welfare workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 56-63.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Boyas, Javier F. & Wind, Leslie H. & Ruiz, Erika, 2015. "Exploring patterns of employee psychosocial outcomes among child welfare workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 174-183.
    10. Boraggina-Ballard, Lena & Sobeck, J. & Honig, D., 2021. "What motivates highly trained child welfare professionals to stay or leave?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. Claiborne, Nancy & Auerbach, Charles & Zeitlin, Wendy & Lawrence, Catherine K., 2015. "Climate factors related to intention to leave in administrators and clinical professionals," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 18-25.
    14. 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).
    15. Kim, Ahraemi & Mor Barak, Michàlle E., 2015. "The mediating roles of leader–member exchange and perceived organizational support in the role stress–turnover intention relationship among child welfare workers: A longitudinal analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 135-143.
    16. Radey, Melissa & Wilke, Dina J., 2023. "Extent, trajectory, and determinants of child welfare turnover and exit destinations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    17. Lee, Eunju & Esaki, Nina & Kim, Jeehoon & Greene, Rose & Kirkland, Kristen & Mitchell-Herzfeld, Susan, 2013. "Organizational climate and burnout among home visitors: Testing mediating effects of empowerment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 594-602.
    18. 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.
    19. Zinn, Andrew, 2015. "A typology of supervision in child welfare: Multilevel latent class and confirmatory analyses of caseworker–supervisor relationship type," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 98-110.
    20. 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.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:41:y:2014:i:c:p:37-44. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.