A Longitudinal Study of Factors Influencing the Retention of Title IV-E Master's of Social Work Graduates in Public Child Welfare

Abstract

This article investigates factors predicting the retention of 201 Title IV-E MSW graduates at a large, urban public child welfare agency in California over 2 years of employment. Using a discriminant function analysis, factors taken at the end of the first and second year of employment were used to predict whether these graduates left prior to or at the end of their commitment or stayed past their commitment. The most consistent predictor of whether MSWs stayed past their stipend commitment was organizational commitment. Other significant predictors varied by year and included burnout, working conditions, supervisor support, job satisfaction, role conflict and autonomy. Qualitative findings about the reasons why these graduates decided to remain or leave the agency are also presented.

KEYWORDS:

• retention
• turnover
• public child welfare
• Title IV-E MSW training program
• organizational commitment
• burnout
• supervisor support
• job satisfaction
• role conflict
• autonomy
• working conditions

Notes

Funding for this research was provided through a training contract with Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. The authors would like to thank James Ferreira, Dale Weaver, Therese Pekala, Barbara Hitchcock, Michal Mor Barak, Jeanne Giovannoni and Rocio Silva for their contributions to this study.

*p ≤ .05

†p ≤ .05. Wilk's λ = .61, canonical correlation = .63.

*p ≤ .05

†p ≤ .05. Wilk's λ = .73, canonical correlation = .52.

Note. *This n includes 25 participants who left the Public Child Welfare agency after their first full year of employment and who also answered the “why did you leave question” previously at a different time point.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julie O'Donnell

Julie O'Donnell is Professor and Director of Research at the School of Social Work and Child Welfare Training Centre, California State University, Long Beach, CA.

Sandra L. Kirkner

Sandra L. Kirkner is Research Associate at the Child Welfare Training Centre, School of Social Work, California State University, Long Beach, CA.