Examining Employment Outcomes of Recently Hired, Older Workers in the Child Welfare Workforce

ABSTRACT

Older workers represent a growing proportion of the child welfare workforce. Yet little research examines employment outcomes of this population. This study used data from the first two waves of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a longitudinal study of 1,500 newly hired child welfare workers. Workers 50 and older had lower odds of job retention compared to younger adults. However, older workers reported less burnout and secondary traumatic stress than younger counterparts. Older workers resilience to burnout and trauma may contribute to positive long-term employment outcomes if agencies retain older workers during early employment.

KEYWORDS:

• child welfare worker
• older worker
• turnover
• burnout
• secondary traumatic stress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah Rakes

Sarah Rakes, PhD, LCSW, [email protected], is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Radford University. Her research focuses on the well-being of older adult caregivers, fostering meaningful social engagement of older adults, and contributing to the training of future helping professionals who are equipped to meet the needs of the aging population.

Melissa Radey

Melissa Radey, PhD, [email protected], is the Agnes Flaherty Stoops Professor in Child Welfare in the College of Social Work at Florida State University. Her work examines vulnerability and support among vulnerable populations, including low-income families as well as stakeholders across the child welfare system. She uses both quantitative and qualitative research to promote just policies and practices to enhance public and private safety nets.

Dina J. Wilke

Dina J. Wilke, PhD, MSW is a professor in the College of Social Work at Florida State University. Her research focuses on professional training/development and intimate partner violence. She is the Principal Investigator for the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a 5-year study of newly hired employees into child welfare workforce.