The effects of an organizational intervention on child welfare

agency atmosphere and workforce stability

Jessica Strolin, PhDJim Caringi, LiCSW

Thank you to Hal Lawson, Mary McCarthy, Katherine Briar-Lawson, and Nancy Claiborne for their support and mentoring. Also thank you to the New York Foundling for funding this dissertation and to the Children’s Bureau for providing funding for the development of the DT intervention

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Introduction High turnover in public child welfare agencies

causes multiple challenges and risks to maintaining the safety and permanency of children within the system.

This study is a quasi-experimental organizational intervention aimed at improving organizational atmosphere and decreasing intention to leave

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Organizational intervention: The Design Team (DT) Based on action theory, organizational

learning theory, and the solution focused model

Design teams are mechanisms for organizational learning and improvement; creating systems that learn from themselves and adapt as a result of what they learn (Lawson, Anderson-Butcher, Petersen, & Barkdull, 2003).

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DT intervention continued Consist of front line case workers, supervisors

and management from all levels and units of public child welfare agencies.

Utilize survey data to help prioritize focal issues for change

Use logic models to move from understanding the problem to implementing a solution

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Rationale for hypotheses Based on the theoretical foundation of DTs, they

are expected to improve H1 - clarity of practice H2 - rewards H3 - burnout H4 - job satisfaction and commitment

When controlling for supervision and propensity

score. Through doing so, intention to leave should decrease

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DesignFigure 5: Research Design

7 child welfare systems with High turnover

Baseline Pre test (2002)

Design and Improvement

Teams (2003-2005)

Post test (2005)

Intervention group O1 X O1 Comparison group O2 O2

• Experimental group –36 workers in 3 counties

• Control Group – 46 workers in 4 counties

•Measurement – Workforce Retention Survey

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Conceptual Framework and Analytic Methods

Directed Regression Model

A. Repeated Measures ANCOVA, logistic Regression and McNemar’s test

B. Logistic regression

C. McNemar’s and Logistic Regression

A. Hypotheses 1-4

B. Hypothesis 5 a-d a

b

c

d

C. Hypothesis 6

Intervention

Clarity of practice

Rewards

Burnout

Job satisfaction and commitment

Clarity of practice

Rewards

Burnout

Job satisfaction and commitment

= “positive change in”

Intention to Leave

Intention to Leave

Intervention

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Major Findings1. No significant improvement in clarity of practice was found.2. No significant improvement in rewards was found3. The intervention had greater significant decreases in burnout

than the comparison counties4. The intervention had greater significant improvements in job

satisfaction and agency commitment than the comparison counties

5. Design Team counties had a significant improvement over time in intention to leave, but comparison counties did not; however the between group difference did not reach significance.

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Discussion of Findings: Organizational Hierarchy

Similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, perhaps there is an organizational hierarchy where certain variables need to be present (job satisfaction and minimal levels of burnout) before actualization (clear and effective practice) can occur.

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Emerging Conceptual Framework

Burnout

Job satisfaction and agency commitment

Positive client outcomes

Workforce Turnover

Rewards

Clarity of Practice

Education and training and education

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Design Team

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Future Research Analyze the effects of DT on actual

turnover in child welfare Analyze the effect of DT interventions on

specific child welfare outcomes related to safety, permanency and well being

A full estimation path analysis should be done with a larger sample that will be more effective at mathematically discerning mediating and direct effects.

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Closing A stable organizational system may be an obligatory pre-

requisite for the success of any child and family treatment intervention. In other words, the most effective practice intervention is doomed to fail in a chaotic organizational system with a high turnover crisis.

The findings in this study provide support that the implementation of Design Teams in rural and suburban districts may very well reduce turnover through the amelioration of burnout and job satisfaction.

New and innovative organizational level interventions that address improvement in agency climate, as well as child welfare outcomes need to be developed, implemented and evaluated.