CWLA, NASW Urge Governors To Improve State Child Welfare Systems

11/25/2002

From: Joyce Johnson of the Child Welfare League of America, 202-942-0244 or jjohnson@cwla.org Gail Woods-Waller of the National Association of Social Workers, 202-336-8236 or gwaller@naswdc.org

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 -- The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in a letter dated November 20, urged all governors, especially those who are newly elected, to address the struggles their state's child welfare system faces in caring for abused and neglected children and their families.

CWLA and NASW reminded U.S. governors that vulnerable children and families ultimately suffer the consequences of allocating limited resources to state child welfare systems. Governors have the responsibility and ability to combat child abuse and neglect, and to make sure that their state's most vulnerable children are cared for.

"Every day, public child welfare agencies make life and death decisions for children with complex needs, while striving to meet extensive legal mandates," says Shay Bilchik, president and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America.

In recent years, there have been a number of high profile reports of child fatalities and other tragedies for children and families involved with the child welfare system. The persistence of preventable child fatalities reports that children have been lost while in custody of the state, and continuing difficulties finding permanent living arrangements for children and youth within reasonable timeframes are all indicators that this nation has not yet made an adequate investment in protecting children and youth.

"The public has high expectations for frontline human service workers, but without a competent and stable workforce and appropriate supports it is near impossible to deliver uniformly high quality services. Gaps in care for our most vulnerable children are unacceptable, but unavoidable, if resources are not increased," says Elizabeth Clark PhD, ACSW, MPH, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers.

Child welfare positions are particularly demanding and stressful, often involving unreasonable workloads and low pay in comparison to jobs in other sectors that require comparable amounts of education and responsibility. Consequently, it is difficult to attract the most qualified employees -- those with professional social work training and experience -- and turnover and vacancy rates among child welfare agencies are often alarmingly high.

The letter noted an overall vacancy rate of 12.9 percent, with one state reporting a maximum vacancy rate of 91.3 percent and an average turnover rate of 11.5 percent; another state reports turnover as high as 28.6 percent.

Governors were asked to ensure that children in state child welfare systems are cared for by making a commitment to hiring an adequate number of professionally trained social workers and other child welfare professionals and to maintain reasonable caseloads and workloads, with adequate compensation.

For additional information about suggested improvements in the child welfare system or to obtain a copy of the recent letter to governors, please visit http://www.cwla.org or http://www.socialworkers.org.

------ Established in 1920, the Child Welfare League of America is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CWLA strives to advance sound public policy on behalf of the more than three million abused, neglected, and vulnerable children served by its more than 1,185 public and private member agencies. To further its mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting the well-being of all children and families, CWLA conducts research, develops standards of best practice, hosts regional and national conferences, provides comprehensive, field-based consultation and professional development services, and is the largest publisher of child welfare materials in North America.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with nearly 150,000 members. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards for the social work profession, and to advance sound social policies.

Founded in 1955, NASW seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its work and advocacy.