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From January 2002 NASW NEWS Private Agency Turnover High
Eighty-two percent of state agencies felt that high workloads led to staff turnover. By John V. O'Neill, MSW, NEWS Staff A three-organization survey of human service workers indicates that personnel turnover rates at private agencies are more than double those at state and county agencies: 40 percent versus 19.9 percent for child protective workers, and 40.8 percent versus 19.4 percent for other direct service caseworkers. One reason may be lower salaries at private agencies. The average wage for child protective service workers in state agencies was $33,436, compared to $28,646 for private agencies. For other direct service caseworkers, states paid an average of $32,861, compared to $29,200 at private agencies. On the other hand, caseloads per worker were lower at private agencies: 13 for CPS workers at private agencies, 24 for state CPS workers; and 14 for other caseworkers at private agencies, compared to 31 for state agencies. The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and the Alliance for Children and Families (ACF) conducted the survey. In the fall of 2000, APHSA surveyed 43 state child welfare agencies and 48 county agencies. CWLA and ACF asked identical questions of a sample of their members. "All other direct service workers" in the survey include agency professional staff who carry cases and provide services other than CPS to children and families. The baccalaureate was the predominant, minimum academic degree required for all levels of staff among state child welfare workers. Overall, the average vacancy rate for CPS and other direct service caseworkers was 10 percent among state and private agencies. State and private agencies reported an average of five to seven weeks was required to fill a vacant position. Both private and state agencies identified noncompetitive salaries as a critical problem in recruiting and retaining qualified staff. The most frequently implemented retention strategies were special efforts to raise worker salaries and increased or improved staff development programs. Of these, efforts to increase salaries were rated as most effective by private agencies. States felt their most "highly problematic" hiring problems were: perceived imbalance of job demands and compensation, 68 percent; noncompetitive starting salaries, 54 percent; other labor market alternatives, 49 percent; lack of qualified candidates, 47 percent; and problematic recruitment procedures, 28 percent. The perceived chief, highly problematic retention problems for state agencies were: workload too high and/or demanding, 82 percent; caseloads too high, 62 percent; low salaries, 46 percent; too much travel, paperwork, 44 percent; supervision problems, 36 percent; and workers not feeling valued, 34 percent. Hiring problems considered highly problematic by private agencies were: lack of qualified candidates, 41 percent; other labor market alternatives, 40 percent; perceived imbalance of job and compensation, 34 percent; noncompetitive starting salaries, 28 percent; and insufficient number of bilingual candidates, 24 percent. Private agencies' highly problematic retention problems were thought to be: low salaries, 48 percent; workload too high, 39 percent; insufficient opportunities for advancement, 14 percent; supervision problems, 10 percent; and too much travel, paperwork, 13 percent. A perceived imbalance between job demands and compensation during recruitment along with high and demanding workloads "are the most highly problematic retention issues faced by state agencies," said the study. "Noncompetitive starting salaries and low salaries in general were rated as highly or somewhat problematic by 80 percent and 74 percent of state agencies," the study noted. States' recruitment problems are "varied, complex and widespread," said the report. States have implemented many recruitment strategies in response to shortages, but there are no "quick fixes." The overwhelming majority of implemented strategies are judged to be "somewhat effective," with as many being rated "not effective" as "highly effective." States have also implemented many strategies to deal with high turnover, but their effectiveness has been rated as modest. Among retention strategies rated as most effective by states are:
A majority of states responding provide educational financial support for child welfare workers to pursue BSW (25 states), MSW (34 states) and related degrees (11 states). The most common sources of educational funding are: Title IV-E (federal) and state revenue (23 states each); and federal child welfare training funds. For details: CWLA, Joyce Johnson, (202) 942-0244, www.cwla.org; APHSA, Amy Tucci, (202) 682-0100, www.aphsa.org; ACF, Karl Robe, (414) 359-1040, ext. 3689, www.alliance1.org Back to NASW NEWS Contents
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