Re: Child Welfare Caseworker Training

["John Kriger" <jkriger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jason,

I read your comments with interest.  It is my understanding that here in NJ high turnover rates are occurring in some offices. Being aware of the training experience as well as the integration of new workers into the work place, I feel we need to look at the pace which new workers are given cases, the pace in which autonomy is given and not only the supervision they receive, but the level of coaching they are given through the first year on the job.  I believe workers are often given too much too soon, and become overwhelmed.  The skill sets are in place, but I question if the rate of integration is too rapid to adequately assimilate them into the culture. Adequate "social" supports are not well established and alienation may result.

John K Kriger

Jason McCrory wrote:

 At 10:00 AM 5/24/01 -0400, you wrote:

There's a lot of information on turnover and vacancy rates in the child welfare workforce, but a question that's been difficult to answer has been 1) what role does lack of training play in retention issues and 2) has there been a lack of training due to a lack of funding at the state level?

I'm with the Protective Services Training Institute of Texas, a collaboration of schools of social work providing training and certification to staff of the statewide CPS agency.

I don't know who may be tracking the topic -- although CWLA may be a place to look, since they do a salary study on a regular basis.  Another potential lead is the National Staff Development and Training Association, NSDTA, http://www.buffalostate.edu/~nsdta/.  APHSA has done some recent studies on the workforce, but I don't know if training was considered... http://www.aphsa.org/

The interaction between training and retention seems complex, to say the least -- as other members of the listserve have begun to point out.  A TDPRS study on worker retention in the agency back in 1993 (n=1500 CPS and APS staff) showed that workload and a perceived lack of supervisor support  were the factors most associated with worker decisions to leave. Other important reasons were pay/benefit factors, role conflict, and in general, the challenges of working in a bureaucratic environment.

The largest percentage of "Reasons to Stay" were in the area of job satisfaction, pay/benefits, work environment, job stability, and co-workers.

Interestingly, in the summary of the report I am looking at, training is not mentioned among the major response categories for Reasons for Quitting, Reasons to Stay, or Suggestions for Improvement.

Certainly, training is only one factor in the support an agency gives its staff to help them perform as professionals.  Texas CPS experienced serious retention problems in the late 90s (annual turnover in the 40+ % range in some regions), and in response has implemented a broad strategy of training, certification, promotion, salary increases, and reducing the supervisor span of control.  I think this is much more likely to be effective than training alone as a turnover remedy.  Still, during the recent good economic times with low unemployment rates, it has been difficult for CPS to recruit competitively, even with other public sector employers.

I have heard one interesting theory that, if true, would confound the attempt to establish a direct relationship between training and retention:  Some who want a human services career see CPS as a great place to get solid training and a good ground of experience for a few years, but then they plan to put that on their resume as "time in the trenches" and leave the agency for less demanding human services positions that pay more.  In other words -- the better trained they are, the more prepared they are to take a different job.

Jason McCrory
 
 
 

|||||   Jason McCrory MSSW
|||||    Project Coordinator
|||||    Protective Services Training Institute of Texas
|||||    UT-Austin School of Social Work
|||||    1925 San Jacinto  ~  Austin, TX  78712-1203
|||||    (512) 471-5743  ~  fax (512) 232-9585
|||||    jmccrory@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
|||||    http://www.utexas.edu/depts/sswork/psti

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Kathleen,
You might consider looking at Bruce Perry's work on PTSD and the impact of
violence on children. You can find his work at: www.childtrauma.org
I hope you find this helpful.
John K Kriger


kathleen malley-morrison wrote:

> hi, andrew. thanks for your response. i am interested in any connections.
> for example, i believe that when nations are at war, violence increases
> domestically, including in the home, as well. i also believe there is
> evidence of higher than average levels of domestic violence in military
> families and police officers' families. and conversely, there is evidence
> that experiencing child abuse makes one more likely to engage in later
> delinquent activities. so, i was wondering if anyone had made any connections
> between e.g., levels of violence experienced in the home and later likelihood
> of involvement in aggressive behaviors against society, including terrorist
> acts. and could someone be a terrorist and be loving and peaceful at home? i
> know the questions sound naive, but it seems to me there should be some
> connections and i was wondering if anyone in the field had written anything on
> the topic. any suggestions you have would be appreciated.
> kathie malley-morrison
>
> Andrew Percy wrote:
>
> > Kathleen
> >
> > Are you proposing a possible link between terrorism and family
> > violence at the individual level (i.e. individuals involved in
> > terrorist activities are more likely to be also violent within
> > the home) or at the societal level (i.e. that is countries with
> > higher levels of conflict also experience higher level of other
> > violence)?
> >
> > Andrew Percy
> >
> > On Tue, 16 Oct 2001 18:32:32 -0400 kathleen malley-morrison
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I am a psychologist at Boston University studying family violence. Does
> > > anyone know of any papers linking family violence (especially child
> > > abuse) with national and international terrorism?
> > > Kathleen Malley-Morrison
> > >
> >
> > ----------------------
> > Andrew Percy
> > Research Statistician
> > The Centre for Child Care Research
> > Queen's University Belfast
> > 5A Lennoxvale
> > Belfast
> > Northern Ireland
> > BT9 5BY
> > Tel: (028) 9027 4610
> > Fax: (028) 9068 7416