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Recruitment and retention of child welfare workers in longitudinal research: Successful strategies from the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families

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  • Wilke, Dina J.
  • Radey, Melissa
  • Langenderfer-Magruder, Lisa

Abstract

Longitudinal panel studies are effective strategies to assess the personal impact of child welfare work, as well as employment outcomes of workers over time. However, longitudinal studies encounter obstacles such as disproportionate attrition that threaten the validity of findings. This paper provides an overview of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families (FSPSF), a 5-year longitudinal panel study of newly hired workers into the child welfare workforce. The purpose of this paper is three-fold: 1) describe the study methodology and recruitment and retention techniques for the FSPSF; 2) illustrate Estrada and colleagues' Tailored Panel Management framework (2014) through FSPSF methodological decisions; and 3) provide guidance and time estimates of key tasks for those interested in undertaking similar projects, with a particular focus on electronic data collection and communication strategies. Initial results are excellent – 84% of all eligible workers completed baseline surveys (n=1,451). At Wave 2 (6 months), 81% of those workers were retained, with preliminary findings of 84% retention of the original baseline respondents at Wave 3 (12 months).

Suggested Citation

  • Wilke, Dina J. & Radey, Melissa & Langenderfer-Magruder, Lisa, 2017. "Recruitment and retention of child welfare workers in longitudinal research: Successful strategies from the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 122-128.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:78:y:2017:i:c:p:122-128
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.05.013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. DePanfilis, Diane & Zlotnik, Joan Levy, 2008. "Retention of front-line staff in child welfare: A systematic review of research," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 995-1008, September.
    2. Ribisl, Kurt M. & Walton, Maureen A. & Mowbray, Carol T. & Luke, Douglas A. & Davidson, William S. & Bootsmiller, Bonnie J., 1996. "Minimizing participant attrition in panel studies through the use of effective retention and tracking strategies: Review and recommendations," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 1-25, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nikolova, K. & Postmus, J.L. & Buttner, C. & Bosk, E.A., 2020. "Working together to protect women and children from domestic violence: Factors influencing willingness to collaborate between organizations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    2. King, Erin A., 2021. "Child welfare workers’ experiences of client-perpetrated violence: Implications for worker mental health," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    3. 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).
    4. Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu & Kevin Baird & Sophia Su, 2022. "The association between the interactive and diagnostic use of financial and non-financial performance measures with individual creativity: The mediating role of perceived fairness," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 371-402, September.
    5. Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu & Kevin Baird & Sophia Su, 2023. "The impact of interactive and diagnostic levers of eco‐control on eco‐innovation: The mediating role of employee environmental citizenship behaviour," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2245-2271, June.
    6. 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.

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