NASW Child Welfare Workforce Fact Sheet

5/18/2004

From: Lahne Mattas-Curry, 202-338-8228, lcurry@naswdc.org or Cynthia Woodside, 202-336-8324, cwoodside@naswdc.org both of NASW; Web: http://www.socialworkers.org

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Following is a fact sheet on the child welfare workforce, release today by the National Association of Social Workers (see "NASW Hopes Pew Commission Report Will Jump Start Action on New Nationwide Commitment to At-Risk Children and Families"):

Child Welfare Workforce

Fast Facts

A stable and highly skilled child welfare workforce is necessary to effectively provide child welfare services that meet federal goals. (However,) large caseloads and worker turnover delay the timeliness of investigations and limit the frequency of worker visits with children, hampering agencies' attainment of some key federal safety and permanency outcomes. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), 2003

Overview

-- Ninety (90) percent of states reported having difficulty in recruiting and retaining child welfare workers. (GAO, 1995)

-- Challenges to recruitment and retention include: low salaries; high caseloads/workloads; administrative burdens; risk of violence; limited or inadequate supervision; and insufficient training. (GAO, 2003)

Worker Turnover

-- Turnover of child welfare workers is estimated to be between 30 and 40 percent annually nationwide. Rates range from a low of zero percent to a high of 600 percent. (GAO, 2003)

-- The average tenure of child welfare workers is less than two years. As a result, supervisors often have only three years of experience. (GAO, 2003)

-- States estimate that 60 percent of turnover is preventable. (Alliance for Children and Families (ACF), American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), 2001)

-- Turnover is consistently higher in states that do not require any kind of degree for child welfare positions and consistently lower in states that require a master's degree in social work (MSW). (Russell, 1987)

-- In Florida, staff without educational preparation for child welfare work are most likely to leave within one year of being hired. (CWLA, 1990)

-- More than 80 percent of child welfare workers who stay at their jobs beyond two years have completed at least one social work degree. (Cicero-Reese, 1998)

Caseload/Workload

-- The average caseload for child welfare workers is between 24 and 31 children. Caseloads range from 10 to 100 children per worker. (ACF, APHSA, CWLA, 2001)

-- CWLA recommends caseloads of between 12 and 15 children per worker. The Council on Accreditation recommends that caseloads not exceed 18 children per worker.

-- Caseloads are high, but workloads are even higher due to the growing complexity of each case. Substance abuse most often occurs with a finding of abuse or neglect, but mental illness, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, and other poverty-related problems are also often present.

Safety/Risk of Violence

-- Seventy (70) percent of front-line caseworkers have been victims of violence or received threats of violence. (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), 1998)

-- One state found that 90 percent of its child protective services employees had experienced verbal threats; 30 percent experienced physical attacks; and 13 percent were threatened with weapons. (GAO, 2003)

Salaries

-- The average annual salary for public agency workers is $33,000. The average annual salary for private agency staff is $27,000. (ACF, APHSA, CWLA, 2001)

-- Child welfare workers' salaries are significantly lower than salaries for employees in safer and more supportive work environments, such as teachers, school counselors, nurses, and public-health social workers. (GAO, 2003)

Qualifications

-- Only 28 percent of child welfare staff hold either bachelor's degrees in social work (BSW) (15 percent) or master's degrees in social work (MSW) (13 percent). (Lieberman, 1988)

-- Fewer than 15 percent of child welfare agencies require caseworkers to hold either BSWs or MSWs. (CWLA, 1999)

-- The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), CWLA, and others recommend that child welfare administrators and supervisors have MSWs and previous child welfare experience, and that direct service workers have, at least, BSWs.

-- Education, specifically holding an MSW, appears to be the best predictor of overall performance in social service work. (Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc., 1987)

-- Child welfare staff with BSW and MSW degrees were found to be more effective in developing successful permanency plans for children who were in foster care for more than two years. (Albers, 1993).

Education and Training

-- There are two major federal funding sources for improving the child welfare workforce: the Title IV-B, Section 426 child welfare training program and Title IV-E training.

-- Title IV-B provides discretionary grants to public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education for full-time or part- time training programs. FY 2003 funding: $7 million.

-- Title IV-E provides an enhanced federal match of 75 percent to fund training programs for both current and prospective child welfare staff. In FY 2001, 49 states received a total of $276 million in Title IV-E training reimbursements. The median reimbursement was $3.1 million and ranged from $1,400 in Wyoming to $59 million in California. (GAO, 2003)

-- University-Agency Child Welfare Training Partnerships, funded under Title IV-E, were found by GAO to have a positive impact on child welfare agencies' ability to recruit and retain child welfare staff. Today, partnerships exist in more than 40 states, and use more than $50 million to prepare workers for the challenges of child welfare service delivery. (GAO, 2003)

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REFERENCES

Albers, E., Reilly, T. & Rittner, B. (1993). Children in foster care: Possible factors affecting permanency planning. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 10(4).

Alliance for Children and Families, American Public Human Services Association, Child Welfare League of America. (2001. May). The child welfare workforce challenge: Results from a preliminary study. Paper presented at Finding Better Ways 2001, Dallas.

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. (1998). Double jeopardy: Caseworkers at risk helping at-risk children: A report on the working conditions facing child welfare workers. (Available from AFSCME, 1625 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-5687)

Cicero-Reese, B. & Black, P. (1998). Research Suggests Why Child Welfare Workers Stay on the Job. Partnerships for Child Welfare, 5(5).

Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. (1987). The Maryland Social Services Job Analysis and Personnel Qualifications Study, Executive Summary. Baltimore: Maryland Department of Human Resources.

Child Welfare League of America. (1990). Florida Recruitment and Retention Study. (Available from CWLA, 440 First Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20001-2085)

Child Welfare League of America. (1999). Minimum Education Required by State Child Welfare Agencies, Percent, By Degree Type, State Child Welfare Agency Survey. (Available from CWLA, 440 First Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20001-2085)

Lieberman, A. A., Hornby, H., & Russell, M. (1988). Analyzing the Educational Backgrounds and Work Experiences of Child Welfare Personnel: A National Study. Social Work, 33(6).

Russell, M. (1987). 1987 National Study of Public Child Welfare Job Requirements. Portland, ME: University of Southern Maine, National Resource Center for Management and Administration.

U.S. General Accounting Office. (1995). Child Welfare: Complex Needs Strain Capacity to Provide Services (GAO/HEHS-95-208). (Available at www.gao.gov)

U.S. General Accounting Office. (2003). HHS Could Play a Greater Role in Helping Child Welfare Agencies Recruit and Retain Staff (GAO-03-357). (Available at www.gao.gov)