Examination of Retention and Length of Employment Among Public Child Welfare Workers

Background and Purpose: Research suggests that turnover rates for caseworkers in the U.S. have consistently remained high during the last two decades (Zlotnik, DePanfilis, Daining, & McDermott Lane, 2005).  Annual turnover rates for U.S. public child welfare workers are estimated to range from 20-40% (GAO, 2003).  In recent years, a number of studies have examined factors that contribute to worker intention to leave and turnover. However, few studies have explored how various personal and organizational factors influence caseworker length of employment.  The current study used Cox Proportional Hazards Regression analysis to examine factors that affect the length of time that workers remain in their positions.

Methods: This study utilized longitudinal data from a statewide sample (N = 9,195) of new public child welfare caseworkers hired between 2001- 2010 in Texas. Caseworkers were surveyed at three points in time: 3 months, 18 months, and 3 years post-hire.  To examine factors related to length of employment, four Cox regression models were run.  The following variables were examined in these models to determine their relationship to length of employment: supervisor satisfaction, organizational support, unit support, job capabilities, job location, job desirability, workload satisfaction, salary satisfaction, and satisfaction with agency mission.  In addition to these factors, the following personal and demographic variables were evaluated: gender, race/ethnicity, social work educational background, and Title IV-E stipend status. 

Of the 9,195 respondents, 53% had terminated with CPS and 47% were still working at the agency at end of study.  Respondents were primarily female (80%) and White (43%), followed by Black (28%) and Hispanic (25%).  A majority (80%) reported that their highest degree was in a field other than social work, (e.g., criminology, sociology, and business) and 7% reported that they participated in the Title IV-E stipend program.

Results:  The findings of this study suggest that a mixture of personal and organizational factors influenced the length of time that caseworkers 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.  Males were .83 times more likely to terminate employment than females and persons without a degree in social work were .87 times more likely to terminate employment than persons with a social work degree.  Additionally, respondents who were Title IV-E stipend students were 1.28 times more likely to remain employed than respondents who were not Title IV-E students.

Conclusions and Implications:  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 towards achieving a more stable workforce.