How does turnover in the child welfare workforce impact children and families?

This brief looks at workforce turnover in the context of:

• Measuring turnover: tracking turnover trends can be difficult because it may be measured differently in each jurisdiction
• Why turnover matters:
  • Leads to more placement disruptions, time in
    foster care, incidents of maltreatment, and re-entries
    into foster care
  • Caseworker turnover constitutes a
    relationship loss with children that has complex and
    negative impacts on children’s well-being
• Turnover predictors: role ambiguity, low compensation, organizational
  culture, lack of peer support, increased administrative
  requirements, high caseloads, and lack of community-based
  services
• racial equity and moral distress: A lack of diversity in the workforce, especially in leadership, as well as perceptions of discrimination and bias can lead to lower
  job satisfaction

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