It Takes a Team: Lessons from the Field on Collaboration and Meaning in Child Welfare Practice

Background:

Child welfare agencies across the U.S. continue to grapple with high workforce turnover, a complex issue that carries both economic costs and emotional consequences for the families served. While previous research often focuses on singular drivers of turnover—such as stress or compensation—these approaches may overlook the deeper, systemic, and relational dynamics that shape worker experiences. Focusing on Ohio’s implementation of the Ohio START (Sobriety, Treatment, and Reducing Trauma) model, which uniquely pairs child welfare professionals with family peer mentors (FPMs), this research seeks to illuminate how these partnerships affect the professional experience of caseworkers. By centering the lived experiences of Ohio START and non-START child welfare workers through qualitative interviews, this study aims to offer a nuanced lens on the organizational and emotional terrain of child welfare practice and workplace experience.

Methods:

We conducted brief, semi-structured qualitative interviews with 40 public child welfare workers in Ohio, including both Ohio START caseworkers (N=15), and non-Ohio START workers (N=25). We used an open-coding approach and thematic analysis to explore themes within the data, with three coders individually coding transcripts, and two independent coders on each transcript. Thematic analysis, as outlined by Braun and Clarke (2022), facilitated the identification of common themes, while narrative analysis provided depth to individual experiences, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of perspectives. We used a consensus approach to coding, in which disagreements were discussed until an agreement was reached, and a third coder served as a tiebreaker when an agreement could not be reached.

Results:

Thematic analysis revealed four themes that captured the workplace experiences of public child welfare caseworkers in Ohio and noted differences between START and non-START workers. The first theme, defining the peer mentor role, details that even though the FPM is an essential piece to Ohio START, the lack of support for FPMs at the local level causes role clarity issues for Ohio START. The second theme, collaboration is the cornerstone, provides clear evidence of the importance of collaboration in child welfare practice, highlighting communication and shared goals as essential components to good service team collaboration. The third theme, the turbulent path to progress, described the emotional highs and lows of working with families affected by substance use disorders. START caseworkers noted that strong team collaboration supports both family successes and caseworker well-being when navigating these challenging experiences. The final theme, fulfillment through family wins, describes how caseworkers see family success as the most satisfying part of the work and maintain their motivation no matter how small the “wins.”

Conclusions and Implications:

These themes highlight key factors that shape child welfare workers’ experiences in Ohio. Family success is the most fulfilling part of the job, and collaboration serves as a critical job resource and driver of outcomes. However, role clarity, particularly around the addition of family peer mentors to the child welfare service delivery model, remains a challenge that can impact team effectiveness. Supporting clear communication, team alignment, and recognition of progress can strengthen both worker satisfaction and family outcomes.