The Case
For Retaining
The Title IV-E Child Welfare Training
Program
THE PROBLEM : State Failure of Child
and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs)
No state currently meets all of the seven standards established
by the federal government for protecting children and finding
safe, permanent homes for those who have suffered abuse or
neglect. Sixteen states do not meet any of the standards.
Deficiencies in the child welfare workforce are at least partially
responsible for an average of nine indicators per state in
areas that received ratings of “needing improvement.” (GAO,
2003)
A number of case outcomes are directly related to
the consistency and quality of caseworker visits with the
child and family, and they are among the areas of greatest
failure. They include, but are not limited to:
- Assessing the needs of children, parents, and foster parents
- Establishing the most appropriate permanency goal for children
- Ensuring workers conduct face-to-face visits with children
and parents
- Providing services to protect children in the home and
prevent removal
- Managing the risk of harm to children
- Meeting the educational, health, and mental health needs
of children
(Children's Bureau, 2003)
A KEY TO THE SOLUTION : Title IV-E
Child Welfare Training Program
The Title IV-E training program is a valuable tool in creating
a qualified, committed, and stable workforce, which is critical
to improving case outcomes and helping states meet the federal
standards of child safety, permanency, and well-being.
IV-E training funds can be used to educate potential child
welfare staff who earn bachelor's (BSW) or master's degrees
(MSW) in social work, train current agency staff, and provide
opportunities for current staff to return to school to obtain
a social work degree.
Title IV-E training programs have been found to improve
both worker retention and worker competence.
- In California , workers
who earned master's degrees in social work (MSWs) through
the state's Title IV-E training program scored higher on
a test of child welfare knowledge and had a more realistic
view of child welfare work. In addition, IV-E workers were
more likely to remain employed than non-IV-E workers. (Jones & Okamura,
2000)
- In Louisiana , Title
IV-E participants scored higher on child welfare competency
exams than control groups and scored higher on supervisor
evaluations of their work. Title IV-E participants also had
higher retention rates. (Ellett & Gansle, 1998)
- In Kentucky , those
who completed IV-E training scored better on the agency's
test of core competencies and their supervisors reported
that they considered them better prepared for their jobs
than other new employees. In addition, more than 80 percent
of participants remained with state agencies after their
initial work obligations concluded. State officials attributed
their retention rates, in part, to the intensive coursework,
formal internships, and rigorous training curriculum. (Fox,
Miller & Barbee, 2003)
- In Oklahoma , retention
was significantly longer for workers with master's degrees
and those who had participated in Title IV-E training.
(Rosenthal, McDowell & White, 1998)
- In Texas , 70
percent of IV-E participants were still employed with the
agency after their contractual employment obligation expired.
(Scannapieco & Connell-Carrick,
2003)
Numerous other studies confirm the findings that a social
work education has a positive impact on worker competence and
worker retention.
- Child welfare staff with social work
degrees rate higher on worker performance measures and
are better able to deal with the complex problems that
are part of child welfare practice. (Albers,
Reilly & Rittner,
1993; Booz-Allen & Hamilton, 1987; Dhooper, Royse & Wolfe,
1990; Fox, Burnham, Barbee & Yankeelov, 2000; Hopkins,
Mudrick & Rudolph, 1999; Lieberman, et al., 1988)
- Child welfare agencies that require workers
with social work degrees have lower rates of turnover. (Bernatovicz,
1997; Ellett, 2000; Harrison, 1995; Lewandowski, 1998;
Russell & Hornby,
1987; Vinokur-Kaplan, 1991)
CONCLUSION
Without a qualified workforce, progress toward meeting the
goals of child safety, permanence, and well-being will remain
elusive. To address failures in the CFSRs, many states have
included workforce improvements in their Program Improvement
Plans (PIPs).
Eliminating the funding entitlement for the Title IV-E training
program or putting training costs in direct competition with
costs for services in a fixed-sum grant, would seriously jeopardize
states' ability to meet the challenges of recruiting and retaining
competent staff.
A strong Title IV-E training program is key to assisting states
in addressing workforce deficiencies and in meeting their obligations
to children who have been abused or neglected or who are at-risk
of abuse and neglect, their families, and their communities.
REFERENCES
-
- Albers, E., Reilly, T., & Rittner, B. (1993). Children
in foster care: Possible factors affecting permanency planning. Child
and Adolescent Social Work, 10 (4), 329-341.
-
-
- Bernotavicz, F. (1997). Retention of child welfare
caseworkers . Presented to the Maine Bureau of Child
and Family Services by a workgroup appointed by the Maine
Department of Human Services Commissioner and chaired by
the author, staff at the Institute for Public Sector Innovation
at the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the
University of Southern Maine .
-
- Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. (1987). The Maryland Social
Work Services Job Analysis and Personnel Qualifications
Study. Baltimore , MD : Maryland Department of Human
Resources.
- Dhooper, S. S., Royse, D. D. & Wolfe, L. C. (1990).
Does social work education make a difference? Social Work, 35 (1), 57-61.
-
- Ellett, A. J. & Gansle, K. (1998). Louisiana Title IV-E
Program Begins Evaluation Process. Partnerships for Child
Welfare, 5 (5).
- Ellett, A. J. (2000). Human caring, self-efficacy beliefs,
and professional organizational culture: Correlates of employee
retention in child welfare. Doctoral Dissertation,
University of Alabama .
-
- Fox, S. R., Burnham, D., Barbee, A. P. & Yankeelov, P.
A. (2000). School to work—Social work that is: Maximizing
agency/university partnerships in preparing child welfare
workers. Journal of the National Staff Development and
Training Association, 1 (1), 13-20.
- Fox, S., Miller, V. & Barbee, A. P. (2003). Finding
and Keeping Child Welfare Workers: Effective Use of Training
and Professional Development. Journal of Human Behavior in
the Social Environment, 7 (1/2).
-
- Harrison, S. G. (1995). Exploration of factors related
to intent to leave among child welfare caseworkers. Doctoral
dissertation, Ohio State University .
- Hopkins, K. M., Murdock, N. R. & Rudolph, C. S. (1999).
Impact of university-agency partnerships in child welfare
on organizations, workers, and work activities. Child Welfare,
78 (6), 749-773.
- Lewandowski, C. A. (1998). Retention outcomes of a public
child welfare long-term training program. Professional
Development: International Journal of Continuing Social Work
Education, 1, 38-46
-
-
- Liebermann, A., Hornby, H. & Russell, M. (1998). Analyzing
the educational backgrounds and work experiences of child
welfare personnel: A national study. Social Work, 33, 485-489.
-
- Jones, L. P., & Okamura, A. (2000). Reprofessionalizing
child welfare services: An evaluation of a Title IV-E training
program. Research on Social Work Practice, 10 (5),
607-621.
- Rosenthal, J. A., McDowell, E. C., & White, T. L. (1998). Retention
of child welfare workers in Oklahoma . Technical
report copyrighted and distributed by the School of Social
Work , University of Oklahoma , Norman , Oklahoma .
-
- Russell, M. & Hornby, H. (1987). 1987 National
study of public child welfare job requirements. Portland
, ME : University of Southern Maine , National Child Welfare
Resource Center for Management and Administration.
- Scannapieco, M. & Connell-Carrick, K. (2003). Do Collaborations
with Schools of Social Work Make a Difference for the Field
of Child Welfare? Practice, Retention, and Curriculum. Journal
of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 7 (1/2),
35-51.
-
- U.S. Children's Bureau. (2003). Results of the 2001
and 2002 Child and Family Services Reviews. [Online.]
Retrieved from http://acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/csrp/results.htm on
April 29, 2004 .
- U.S. General Accounting Office. (March 2003). HHS Could
Play a Greater Role in Helping Child Welfare Agencies Recruit
and Retain Staff (GAO-03-357). Washington , DC : Author.
- Vinokur-Kaplan, D. (1987). Where did they go? A national follow-up
of child welfare trainees. Child Welfare, 66 (5), 411-421.
August 2004 |
About
NASW