Exit Interviews with Departed Child Welfare Workers: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

A total of 69 departed public child welfare workers responded to a telephone interview asking why they left their positions and what might have made them stay. Their open-ended responses were then coded into domains and subcategories and also converted into quantitative data for descriptive analysis. The model developed describes the effect of child welfare work (mentioned by 26.1% of respondents) and working conditions (supervision, 28.9%, agency climate, 31.8%, agency behavior, 57.9%, workload, 47.8%) having an impact on the self (noted by 72.4% of respondents) which then resulted in departure. Factors that workers said would have made them stay included changes in the child welfare work, 17.4%, supervision, 24.6%, agency climate, 26.1%, agency behavior, 43.5%, manageable workload, 52.1%, and impact on the self, 24.6%.KEYWORDS child welfare turnover, exit interviews, child welfare workforce The child welfare system is in a crisis (e.g.

A meta-analysis of turnover intention predictors among U.S. child welfare workers

“…Interestingly, caseload, usually measured by the number of caseload, showed little effect on turnover intention although caseload has been cited as one of major factors of turnover among CW workers, especially in qualitative studies (Ausbrooks, 2007;Burns, 2011;Dombrowski, 2003;Ellett, Ellis, Westbrook, & Dews, 2007;Gonzalez, Faller, Ortega, & Tropman, 2009;Johnson, 2010;Lijewski, 2012). The lack of direct effect of caseload on turnover intention may be the indication that there may be some variables which mediate the influence of caseload (e.g., stress and burnout).…”

Relationship Between Vicarious Traumatization and Turnover Among Child Welfare Professionals

“…To effectively retain child welfare professionals, organizations must know what factors motivate their workers to stay in the field and what factors cause them to leave. Empirical research indicates that heavy workloads, heavy caseloads, after-hours work, amount and type of paperwork, insufficient resources, lack of career advancement opportunities, and low salaries are factors which contribute to worker turnover (APHSA, 2005;Ellett, Ellet, & Rugutt, 2003;Gonzalez, Faller, Ortega, & Tropman, 2009;Strolin, McCarthy, & Caringi, 2007;Zlotnik, DePanfilis, Daining, & Lane, 2005;). Recent findings indicate that factors pertaining to the nature of the work (e.g., stress, emotional exhaustion, burnout, and job satisfaction) are more strongly correlated with child welfare worker turnover than organizational structure issues such as those listed previously (Beaver, 1999;Dickenson & Perry, 2002).…”

Risk-Laden Working Lives of Child Protection Social Workers in South Africa

“…Inadequate professional support was a source of risk for many of the participants and well recognized by scholars across the globe (Alpaslan & Schenk, 2012;Gonazalez et al, 2009;Truter et al, 2018). The type of unsupportive supervisors appointed who are responsible to support CPSWs was well described when Participant 6 was asked about the risk factors associated with social work in the child protection sector: "…but unfortunately my supervisor does not have leadership skills … she is not a born supervisor … she does not take responsibility, she throws tantrums when you ask her favours.…”

“…Participants ascribed most of their stress to the particularly stressful context of CPSW, which is a commonly reported risk factor for other CPSWs in South Africa (Truter et al, 2018), Australia (Gibbs, 2001), the USA (Gonazalez et al, 2009) and the UK (Munro, 1996). The fast pace of functioning, removal of children, last-minute preparation before and during emergency removals, followed by several duties that need to be executed within a short time span, and the emotional trauma were all features of CPSW that participants described as inherently stressful, as expressed by Participant 1, who described CPSW when she was asked what makes the job difficult: "Eish it's not an easy, it's not an easy … Yes, it's a challenging job because you have to you know, ai there are so many things that are happening in the child and protection services.…”

“…In the USA 369 CPSWs were interviewed in a study by Ellett, Ellis, Westbrook & Dews, (2007) and the findings revealed that risk factors for these CPSWs included excessive workloads and the stressful nature of doing CPSW. In another American study by Gonazalez, Faller, Ortega & Tropman, (2009) 69 CPSWs participated and risks for this group included the stressful nature of CPSW, inadequate support, excessive workload and high levels of stress. Finally, Tavormina and Clossey (2017) interviewed 12 American CPSWs and found that feeling powerless in depending on funds and administrative approvals to do the work and the very nature of crisis work within CPSW ultimately placed them at risk of secondary trauma.…”