The Experts below are selected from a list of 123 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Nancy S. Dickinson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Predictors of undesired turnover for child Welfare Workers.
Child welfare, 2009Co-Authors: Nancy S. Dickinson, John S PainterAbstract:The persistently high turnover of child Welfare staff hampers the ability of agencies to adequately serve families, children, and youth. This article presents the results of an experimental retention study using baseline demographic and attitudinal data collected from a child Welfare Worker survey, combined with employment data from a human resource database. Survival analyses and multilevel regression models identify the strongest predictors of intent to leave and actual turnover. Implications for research-based recruitment and retention strategies are discussed.
-
Child Welfare Worker Characteristics and Job Satisfaction: A National Study
Social work, 2008Co-Authors: Richard P. Barth, E. Christopher Lloyd, Sharon L. Christ, Mimi V. Chapman, Nancy S. DickinsonAbstract:Concern over the quality of child Welfare work appears regularly in the popular and scholarly press. The child Welfare Worker role involves dealing with high levels of uncertainty, danger, and emotion (Gustavsson & MacEachron, 2002; Regehr, Hemsworth, Leslie, Howe, & Chau, 2004). Some members of this workforce have educational preparation for the work that they are doing, but most do not (American Public Human Services Association [APHSA], 2005). The General Accounting Office (GAO) (GAO, 2003) has documented the difficulties agencies face in trying to attract and retain a qualified workforce. The work that child Welfare Workers do is undeniably important, and there is significant demand for it. According to the Children's Bureau, using 2003 data, child Welfare agencies receive nearly 500,000 calls a month concerning child maltreatment, 50,000 reports of maltreatment are accepted by child Welfare services for evaluation each week (almost 3 million a year), and about 1 million cases are opened for child Welfare intervention annually (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005). These numbers are over and above the roughly 550,000 children who have ongoing involvement in foster care each year, and a larger number formerly in foster care and now adopted or in guardianships. Certainly, child Welfare Workers have difficult duties to fulfill under less-than-optimal working conditions, including low salaries, poor work environments, incomplete training, and inadequate supervision (GAO, 2003). Yet many child Welfare Workers are able to manage the challenges of their work and have a sense of satisfaction (Annie E. Casey Foundation [AECF], 2003; Rycraft, 1994). This article describes characteristics associated with reported job satisfaction among a national sample of child Welfare Workers. In recent years, policymakers and scholars have attempted to study child Welfare Workers and their work on a larger scale (AECF, 2003; GAO, 2003).A few of these efforts have been aimed at testing education and training interventions that may strengthen the child Welfare workforce (for example, Fox, Miller, & Barbee, 2003). Most studies have examined the characteristics and perceptions of child Welfare Workers, especially as they relate to such outcomes as turnover and retention (Dickinson & Perry, 2002), burnout (Anderson, 2000), and job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Glisson & Durick, 1988). The U.S. Children's Bureau recently funded eight university five-year demonstration grants to test ways of improving the child Welfare workforce, primarily by strengthening child Welfare Worker recruitment and retention (Administration on Children, Youth and Families, 2003). The APHSA (2005) has compiled data from 42 states to better understand the child Welfare workforce. Georgia, Texas, and Milwaukee County are among many that have initiated workforce studies (Ellett, Ellett, & Rugutt, 2003; Flower, McDonald, & Sumski, 2005; Scannapieco & Connell-Carrick, 2003). Other studies have focused on the experiences of graduates from social work programs with specializations in child Welfare (for example, Dickinson & Perry, 2002). These reports typically include discussion of minimum preparation and training and describe how child Welfare Worker characteristics and their experiences in agencies blend together to affect job satisfaction and employment stability. Research about the child Welfare workforce varies in rigor and is almost always specific to a single locality. An earlier review of child Welfare Workers' characteristics and work environments (AECF, 2003) observed a marked lack of quality data describing Workers or their satisfaction. Moreover, early research on Workers (for example, Daley, 1979) may no longer be accurate because of recent changes in child Welfare services and in the child Welfare workforce. Hence, questions remain largely unanswered about the general population of child Welfare Workers and what contributes to their job satisfaction. …
Marcia K Meyers - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
frontline Worker responses to domestic violence disclosure in public Welfare offices
Social Work, 2010Co-Authors: Taryn Lindhorst, Erin A Casey, Marcia K MeyersAbstract:Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts of interviews between Welfare caseWorkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by Workers to client disclosures of abuse and to assess the match or mismatch of these responses with FVO policy requirements. Only 22 of 782 client interviews involved the disclosure of abuse to the Welfare caseWorker. A typology of Worker responses was created, from least to most engaged. This typology shows that only half of those who disclosed abuse received assistance from the Welfare Worker, despite policy mandates that clients receive information on TANF waivers and community resources. This study suggests that problems with implementation of the FVO reflect a systemic reluctance to address issues of violence with women rather than problems of individual Workers. Language: en
Taryn Lindhorst - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
frontline Worker responses to domestic violence disclosure in public Welfare offices
Social Work, 2010Co-Authors: Taryn Lindhorst, Erin A Casey, Marcia K MeyersAbstract:Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts of interviews between Welfare caseWorkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by Workers to client disclosures of abuse and to assess the match or mismatch of these responses with FVO policy requirements. Only 22 of 782 client interviews involved the disclosure of abuse to the Welfare caseWorker. A typology of Worker responses was created, from least to most engaged. This typology shows that only half of those who disclosed abuse received assistance from the Welfare Worker, despite policy mandates that clients receive information on TANF waivers and community resources. This study suggests that problems with implementation of the FVO reflect a systemic reluctance to address issues of violence with women rather than problems of individual Workers. Language: en
Richard P. Barth - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Child Welfare Worker Characteristics and Job Satisfaction: A National Study
Social work, 2008Co-Authors: Richard P. Barth, E. Christopher Lloyd, Sharon L. Christ, Mimi V. Chapman, Nancy S. DickinsonAbstract:Concern over the quality of child Welfare work appears regularly in the popular and scholarly press. The child Welfare Worker role involves dealing with high levels of uncertainty, danger, and emotion (Gustavsson & MacEachron, 2002; Regehr, Hemsworth, Leslie, Howe, & Chau, 2004). Some members of this workforce have educational preparation for the work that they are doing, but most do not (American Public Human Services Association [APHSA], 2005). The General Accounting Office (GAO) (GAO, 2003) has documented the difficulties agencies face in trying to attract and retain a qualified workforce. The work that child Welfare Workers do is undeniably important, and there is significant demand for it. According to the Children's Bureau, using 2003 data, child Welfare agencies receive nearly 500,000 calls a month concerning child maltreatment, 50,000 reports of maltreatment are accepted by child Welfare services for evaluation each week (almost 3 million a year), and about 1 million cases are opened for child Welfare intervention annually (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005). These numbers are over and above the roughly 550,000 children who have ongoing involvement in foster care each year, and a larger number formerly in foster care and now adopted or in guardianships. Certainly, child Welfare Workers have difficult duties to fulfill under less-than-optimal working conditions, including low salaries, poor work environments, incomplete training, and inadequate supervision (GAO, 2003). Yet many child Welfare Workers are able to manage the challenges of their work and have a sense of satisfaction (Annie E. Casey Foundation [AECF], 2003; Rycraft, 1994). This article describes characteristics associated with reported job satisfaction among a national sample of child Welfare Workers. In recent years, policymakers and scholars have attempted to study child Welfare Workers and their work on a larger scale (AECF, 2003; GAO, 2003).A few of these efforts have been aimed at testing education and training interventions that may strengthen the child Welfare workforce (for example, Fox, Miller, & Barbee, 2003). Most studies have examined the characteristics and perceptions of child Welfare Workers, especially as they relate to such outcomes as turnover and retention (Dickinson & Perry, 2002), burnout (Anderson, 2000), and job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Glisson & Durick, 1988). The U.S. Children's Bureau recently funded eight university five-year demonstration grants to test ways of improving the child Welfare workforce, primarily by strengthening child Welfare Worker recruitment and retention (Administration on Children, Youth and Families, 2003). The APHSA (2005) has compiled data from 42 states to better understand the child Welfare workforce. Georgia, Texas, and Milwaukee County are among many that have initiated workforce studies (Ellett, Ellett, & Rugutt, 2003; Flower, McDonald, & Sumski, 2005; Scannapieco & Connell-Carrick, 2003). Other studies have focused on the experiences of graduates from social work programs with specializations in child Welfare (for example, Dickinson & Perry, 2002). These reports typically include discussion of minimum preparation and training and describe how child Welfare Worker characteristics and their experiences in agencies blend together to affect job satisfaction and employment stability. Research about the child Welfare workforce varies in rigor and is almost always specific to a single locality. An earlier review of child Welfare Workers' characteristics and work environments (AECF, 2003) observed a marked lack of quality data describing Workers or their satisfaction. Moreover, early research on Workers (for example, Daley, 1979) may no longer be accurate because of recent changes in child Welfare services and in the child Welfare workforce. Hence, questions remain largely unanswered about the general population of child Welfare Workers and what contributes to their job satisfaction. …
Erin A Casey - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
frontline Worker responses to domestic violence disclosure in public Welfare offices
Social Work, 2010Co-Authors: Taryn Lindhorst, Erin A Casey, Marcia K MeyersAbstract:Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts of interviews between Welfare caseWorkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by Workers to client disclosures of abuse and to assess the match or mismatch of these responses with FVO policy requirements. Only 22 of 782 client interviews involved the disclosure of abuse to the Welfare caseWorker. A typology of Worker responses was created, from least to most engaged. This typology shows that only half of those who disclosed abuse received assistance from the Welfare Worker, despite policy mandates that clients receive information on TANF waivers and community resources. This study suggests that problems with implementation of the FVO reflect a systemic reluctance to address issues of violence with women rather than problems of individual Workers. Language: en