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©
2007 Jordan Institute
for Families
Vol.
12, No. 1
January 2007
Study Shows High Staff Turnover Linked to Maltreatment Recurrence
While past research has documented the negative impact of high staff turnover on child welfare agencies in terms of such factors as case overload and low morale, a new study shows that high staff turnover is also associated with higher rates of recurrence of child abuse and neglect. The study, released by Cornerstones for Kids as part of its Human Services Workforce Initiative, offers recommendations for better agency functioning.
Data from 2002 on 12 diverse California counties provided information on nearly 3,000 workers and more than 40,000 cases. The data allowed researchers to classify the counties as high, moderate, or low functioning based on workplace characteristics, efficiency measures, and maltreatment recurrence outcomes at 3, 6, and 12 months.
The highest functioning county agencies had both the lowest turnover rate, at 9%, and the lowest rates of maltreatment recurrence, at 6% to 15% over the three time periods. In comparison, the lowest functioning agencies had a staff turnover rate of 23% and maltreatment recurrence rates of 15% to 22%.
The study’s authors suggest that recurrences of child abuse and neglect can be reduced by maintaining child welfare staff through such measures as:
• Increased salaries for workers and supervisors
• Elimination of overtime
• Elimination of on-call work
• Emphasis on completing written case plans
Relationship Between Staff Turnover, Child Welfare System Functioning and Recurrent Child Abuse is available at
<http://www.cornerstones4kids.org/images/nccd_relationships_306.pdf> .
Reprinted from the CB Express, May 2006 Vol. 7, No. 4 <cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov>