Expanding our understanding of the role of peer support in child welfare workforce retention

ABSTRACT

Turnover is problematic for child welfare agencies and clients. To better understand the role of peer support in retention among caseworkers, this study explored whether staff perceive distinct types of peer support (operational and social-emotional) and examined the extent to which peer support differs by demographic and organizational factors in predicting intent to stay. Results from 1,703 caseworkers indicated that they perceive both types of peer support; both types are associated with job satisfaction, organizational climate, and intent to stay. Strategies to bolster peer support and opportunities for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Child welfare
• retention
• peer support
• job satisfaction
• organizational climate

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a Cooperative Agreement from U.S. DHHS, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau to create the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI), under award number 90CT7002 awarded to the University at Albany’s School of Social Welfare. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ACF, CB, or NCWWI. This study was approved by the institutional review board at the University of Denver.

Notes on contributors

Jennifer A. Sedivy

Jennifer A. Sedivy, MSW, is a Gradate Research Assistant at the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver. Jennifer has more than 10 years of research and evaluation experience, where she has engaged in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods methodologies. She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and an MSW from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Social Work from the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. Through this work, Jennifer aims to improve outcomes for children, youth, and families involved in the child welfare system.

Shauna Rienks

Shauna Rienks, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Social Work and Senior Research Analyst at the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver. She has more than 15 years of experience in research design, development and testing of measurement tools, and qualitative and quantitative data analyses in the fields of child welfare workforce development, child development, family relationships and well-being across the lifespan, and social determinants of health. Through this work, she hopes to improve the health and well-being of children and families and the workforce that serves them.

Robin Leake

Robin Leake, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver with more than 20 years of experience in social science and intervention research and evaluation, with an emphasis on implementation of evidence-based, trauma-informed practice and organizational and workforce development. Dr. Leake is the Project Director for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) funded by the ACF to strengthen the child welfare workforce, and also Project Director for the Children’s Bureau Capacity Building Center for Tribes, which supports tribal child welfare programs in implementing evidence-informed programs that serve children and families.

Amy S. He

Amy S. He, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver. She has more than 15 years of clinical experience and has worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Dr. He’s research focuses on interagency collaboration between substance abuse treatment and child welfare systems, as well as organizational practices that support child welfare workforce development. Dr. He currently serves as the Evaluation PI for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute and as a member of Colorado’s Family First Prevention Services Act Implementation Team.