Child Neglect: Statutes, Rates, and a Neglect Diversion Model

Child Neglect: Statutes, Rates, and a Neglect Diversion Model  Introduction: Poverty is a correlate if not a cause of child neglect in the US and worldwide (Slack, 2017; WHO UNICEF,2021,UN 2021). Definitions of child neglect vary widely and include parental omissions and commissions. The purpose of this manuscript is to examine the extent to which poverty exemptions in state statutes (N=15) actually are correlated with “screened out” neglect cases.  We then undertake a case study of Vermont, the state in the U.S. with the lowest rate of screened in neglect cases, to explore the extent that the state of Vermont can be seen as a “positive outlier.” Methods: Using a multi-phase analysis, this article examines US state statutes (2019). Focusing on the 14 states that use poverty and service access qualifiers in their neglect statutes, we compare their neglect rates with states that do not include such qualifiers. We hypothesized that states with poverty exemptions in their statutes would have proportionately fewer neglect cases. The second phase of analysis built off of key informant interviews to help explain findings from phase 1.  Findings: The findings expose the wide variation in neglect percentages across the nation, ranging from 92.2% to 1.5%. Using Vermont as a case study, with the lowest reported neglect rate and only 18 cases screened in for investigation in 2019, we examine explanations for the wide discrepancies nationally. These include the use of an economic firewall with poverty related cases in Vermont being referred to economic support services instead of a CPS investigation, Family Resource Centers, and Differential Response Systems.Implications and Conclusions: Differentiating child neglect from poverty, creating a national if not a globally standardized definition of neglect could help to better contextualize neglect rates, create poverty related diversion programs, and address race equity agendas. Finally, we offer recommendations to create more innovative practices to address and divert neglect cases to other systems and services that can more appropriately aid children, parents, and whole families.

Design Teams as an Organizational Intervention to Improve Job Satisfaction and Worker Turnover in Public Child Welfare

This study focuses on the field test of a design team intervention in two rural and one urban site experiencing high workforce turnover. Hypothesis 1: Job satisfaction is significantly improved among public child welfare workers participating in the Design Team intervention. Hypothesis 2: Job satisfaction is significantly related to lower turnover in public child welfare workers participating in the Design Team intervention. The Design Team is an externally facilitated intervention in which team members consist of caseworkers and supervisors representing all services provided by the agency. The facilitator uses a formal logic model and team building expertise to guide the team. A pre-post design and structural equation modeling findings indicate a positive impact to overall worker job satisfaction and satisfaction with the nature of their work, and has strong potential to reduce turnover

Improving turnover in public child welfare: Outcomes from an organizational intervention

This study examines the effects of an organizational intervention on intention to leave child welfare. Using a non-equivalent comparison group design, twelve child welfare agencies participated in either the Design Team intervention condition or a comparison condition. Organizational factors and intention to leave were assessed pre and post intervention. Findings from GLM Repeated Measures indicate significant group by wave interactions for three of the six organizational variables (professional resources, commitment, and burnout) and intention to leave. All of these interactions showed a greater positive improvement for the DT group than the comparison group. Structural equation modeling demonstrates good model fit with significant pathways leading from the intervention through intervening organizational variables to intention to leave. Intervening at the organizational level can help child welfare agencies improve organizational shortcomings, while also decreasing intention to leave. Evidence suggests that by improving organizational factors affecting the workforce, service quality will improve.Child welfare Structural equation modeling Organizational change Intervention

Differential Factors Influencing Public and Voluntary Child Welfare Workers\u27 Intention to Leave

Although several studies have explored personal and organizational factors impacting retention and turnover in public or private agencies, there are no studies comparing the similarities and differences between voluntary and public child welfare settings. The research reported here is designed to contribute to knowledge about the differential factors that may contribute to worker retention and turnover in the voluntary (private, non-profit) and public child welfare sectors. The current research expands knowledge of the child welfare workforce by comparing the difference in factors contributing to job satisfaction and turnover between the voluntary and public child welfare sectors in a large urban community. The research includes workers from 202 voluntary agencies (n=538) and from one large public child welfare agency (n=144).The bivariate analyses revealed that public agency workers were more satisfied with their opportunities for promotion, benefits, and the nature of their work, whereas the voluntary agency workers were more satisfied with their co-workers. A structural equation model (SEM) revealed that lower investment in child welfare work was associated with intent to leave for both samples, as was lower satisfaction with contingent rewards and the nature of their work. Moreover, agency auspice was strongly predictive of intent to leave. Voluntary child welfare workers had stronger intentions to leave, despite the fact they displayed higher investment in child welfare work in the bivariate analysis. The key factor predicting voluntary agency workers\u27 intention to leave was their dissatisfaction with their level of pay

Differential factors influencing public and voluntary child welfare workers' intention to leave

Although several studies have explored personal and organizational factors impacting retention and turnover in public or private agencies, there are no studies comparing the similarities and differences between voluntary and public child welfare settings. The research reported here is designed to contribute to knowledge about the differential factors that may contribute to worker retention and turnover in the voluntary (private, non-profit) and public child welfare sectors. The current research expands knowledge of the child welfare workforce by comparing the difference in factors contributing to job satisfaction and turnover between the voluntary and public child welfare sectors in a large urban community. The research includes workers from 202 voluntary agencies (n = 538) and from one large public child welfare agency (n = 144). The bivariate analyses revealed that public agency workers were more satisfied with their opportunities for promotion, benefits, and the nature of their work, whereas the voluntary agency workers were more satisfied with their co-workers. A structural equation model (SEM) revealed that lower investment in child welfare work was associated with intent to leave for both samples, as was lower satisfaction with contingent rewards and the nature of their work. Moreover, agency auspice was strongly predictive of intent to leave. Voluntary child welfare workers had stronger intentions to leave, despite the fact they displayed higher investment in child welfare work in the bivariate analysis. The key factor predicting voluntary agency workers' intention to leave was their dissatisfaction with their level of pay.Worker retention Job satisfaction Structural equation modeling Auspices

It Flows Both Ways: Relationships between Families and Educators during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This is a critical moment of extraordinary rates of teacher burnout exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to implement effective intervention and policy, we must identify the drivers of educators’ stress and factors that may act as protective mechanisms. The complexity of this problem calls for a social–ecological approach. In this study, we investigated the impact of individual, organizational, and relational factors on educators’ pandemic-related stress. Using hierarchical multiple regression, we found that secondary traumatic stress and family, school, student, and community relationships significantly predicted pandemic-related stress after controlling for race, age, and gender. Family, school, and community collaboration is well-documented to benefit students; however, our results suggest that these relationships also benefit teachers, and may have been a protective factor on pandemic-related stress. That is, the positive influence of family, school, and community relationships flows both ways—to students and their families as well as to educators. Our findings highlight the importance of more research on secondary traumatic stress and home–school–community collaborations to mitigate teacher stress and burnout, as well as the implication for practice to increase emphasis on these issues in teacher preparation and ongoing professional development

It Flows Both Ways: Relationships between Families and Educators during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This is a critical moment of extraordinary rates of teacher burnout exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to implement effective intervention and policy, we must identify the drivers of educators’ stress and factors that may act as protective mechanisms. The complexity of this problem calls for a social–ecological approach. In this study, we investigated the impact of individual, organizational, and relational factors on educators’ pandemic-related stress. Using hierarchical multiple regression, we found that secondary traumatic stress and family, school, student, and community relationships significantly predicted pandemic-related stress after controlling for race, age, and gender. Family, school, and community collaboration is well-documented to benefit students; however, our results suggest that these relationships also benefit teachers, and may have been a protective factor on pandemic-related stress. That is, the positive influence of family, school, and community relationships flows both ways—to students and their families as well as to educators. Our findings highlight the importance of more research on secondary traumatic stress and home–school–community collaborations to mitigate teacher stress and burnout, as well as the implication for practice to increase emphasis on these issues in teacher preparation and ongoing professional development

Child welfare design teams: An intervention to improve workforce retention and facilitate organizational development

Workforce turnover in public child welfare is a national problem. Individual, supervisory, and organizational factors, individually and in combination, account for some of the turnover. Complex, comprehensive interventions are needed to address these several factors and their interactions. A research and development team is field testing one such intervention. The three-component intervention encompasses management consultations, capacity building for supervisors, and a cross-role, intra-agency design team (DT). DTs consist of representative workers from pilot child welfare systems. A social worker from outside the agency facilitates team problem solving focused on retention of workers. DT problem solving combines action research and learning. DTs and their facilitators rely on specially designed tools, protocols, and social work research as they address retention-related priorities. Intervention research findings as well as successful examples of retention-related problem solving indicate the DT intervention's potential contributions to social work education, research, and practice