Differential Factors Influencing Public and Private Child Welfare Workers' Intention to Leave

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recruitment and retention of a competent and qualified child welfare workforce impacts the system's ability to provide high quality services to at-risk children and families. However, national studies of public and private child welfare agencies report annual turnover rates ranging between 20 and 40 percent with length of employment averaging less than two years (APHSA, 2001, 2005; GAO, 2003). To better understand the child welfare workforce crisis, researchers have examined the relationship between personal and organizational factors and retention and turnover among child welfare staff (e.g., DePanfilis & Zlotnik, 2008). While studies have explored how these factors impact retention and turnover in public or private agencies, there are no studies comparing workers based on auspice (private or public). The current study is designed to contribute knowledge about the differential factors that may lead to worker retention and turnover by auspice. METHODS: To obtain data from private agencies, workers and supervisors in all preventive service programs under contract with the City were asked to respond to an anonymous survey. Data for public agency workers were obtained from a non-probability sample of child welfare workers and supervisors in one site of a large public child welfare agency. The written instrument was a modified version of a survey developed to examine job satisfaction and potential turnover among public child welfare workers. Domains measured included nine dimensions of job satisfaction, intention to leave, career satisfaction, and agency investment. Data were analyzed using bivariate analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to identify personal and organizational differences between workers by auspice. RESULTS: Public workers were employed longer (p=0.00), earned higher salaries (p=0.00) and had more family responsibilities (p=0.03) than private workers. Additionally, they were more satisfied with opportunities for promotion (p=0.00), benefits (p=0.00), and the nature of work (p=0.00). Private workers had a higher proportion of MSWs (p=0.00), were more satisfied with their co-workers (p=0.00), felt more invested in their agencies (p=0.04), and perceived a higher level of efficacy (p=0.00) than public workers. SEM analysis indicated the sample model did not differ significantly from the hypothesized population model (X2=51.6; p=0.06). Values for RMSEA, CFI, and TLI confirmed a good fit. The model indicated that agency investment (-0.31; p=0.00), satisfaction with contingent rewards (-0.15; p=0.01), and nature of work (-0.23; p=0.00) were associated with intent to leave for all workers. Private workers indicated stronger intentions to leave (0.52; p=0.05) despite higher levels of investment. The key factor predicting private workers' intention to leave was dissatisfaction with level of pay (-0.52; p=0.00). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This study highlights similarities and differences between child welfare workers based on auspice. A key finding that private workers' dissatisfaction with pay is linked to intent to leave despite higher investment in their agencies is important and should give credence to private agency executives who have long argued the need for higher salaries in order to retain their workers. As public child welfare agencies move toward increased privatization and contracting with private agencies, this finding assumes greater importance.