Enhancing Job Satisfaction and Retention in Child Welfare: The Impact of the Ohio Start Intervention Model

Background:
High turnover among child welfare workers is a major issue across the U.S., resulting in costly recruitment and training cycles and negative impacts on families. Existing interventions often address only one turnover factor, like stress or financial incentives, rather than taking a holistic approach. In Ohio, Public Children Services Agencies (PCSAs) implemented Ohio START—a cross-system intervention model—to deliver substance use treatment, family peer mentoring, and intensive case management to families facing co-occurring substance use disorder and child maltreatment. Drawing from the Job Demands and Resources Theory, key Ohio START components—interprofessional collaboration, role clarity, and attention to stigmatized attitudes—are hypothesized be related to job satisfaction and retention. This study aimed to: (1) Explore differences in job satisfaction, retention, role clarity, interprofessional collaboration, and stigma between Ohio START and non-START workers; and (2) Assess role clarity, collaboration, and stigma as predictors of job satisfaction, and job satisfaction as a mediator of retention.

Methods:
Data were collected through a quantitative survey of 128 public child welfare caseworkers (N= 35 START; N= 93 non-START). Job satisfaction was measured using the Job Satisfaction Survey; retention via the Intention to Remain Employed-Child Welfare scale. Interprofessional collaboration was measured with the Quality of Inter-Professional Collaboration; role clarity with the Role Conflict/Role Ambiguity Scale; stigma with the Child Welfare Worker Attitudes about Addiction scale. Control variables included age, gender, tenure, race, degree, education level, and years in child welfare. Independent samples t-tests were conducted in SPSS for aim 1. Path analyses were conducted in MPlus for aim 2.

Results:
Independent samples t-tests indicated Ohio START workers had significantly higher collaboration (M = 4.09, p = 0.002) and lower stigmatized attitudes (M = 2.38, p = 0.002) than non-START workers. A path model using the full sample demonstrated acceptable fit (CFI = .956, RMSEA = .088, SRMR = .054). Job satisfaction significantly mediated the effects of role clarity (β = .020, 95% CI [.005, .040]), collaboration (β = .010, 95% CI [.003, .025]), and stigma (β = –.016, 95% CI [–.038, –.004]) on retention intentions. All indirect effects were significant, supporting the hypothesized mediation model. Findings underscore job satisfaction’s central role in linking workplace conditions to retention.

Conclusions & Implications:
Findings suggest significant group differences in collaboration and stigmatized attitudes, emphasizing these as key elements of Ohio START. Both variables are significant predictors of job satisfaction. While collaboration in child welfare literature is limited, these findings suggest that cross-system collaboration (e.g., with behavioral health organizations) is a critical job resource. Sharing case responsibilities and working in teams may be essential to achieving better workforce outcomes for child welfare caseworkers.