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GAO-03-357
GAO: Report to Congressional
Requesters
United States General Accounting Office
 Child Welfare: HHS Could Play a
Greater Role in Helping Child Welfare Agencies Recruit and Retain
Staff
Child welfare agencies face a number of
challenges in recruiting and retaining workers and supervisors.
Low salaries, in particular, hinder agencies ability to attract
potential child welfare workers and to retain those already in the
profession. Additionally, caseworkers GAO interviewed in all four
of the states GAO visited cited high caseloads and related
administrative burdens, which
they said took from 50 to 80 percent of their time; a lack of
supervisory support; and insufficient time to take training as
issues impacting both their ability to work effectively and their
decision to stay in the child welfare profession. Most of these
issues also surfaced in GAOs analysis of 585 exit interviews
completed by child welfare staff across the country who
voluntarily severed their employment.
According to caseworkers GAO interviewed,
high turnover rates and staffing shortages leave remaining staff
with insufficient time to establish relationships with children
and families and make the necessary decisions to ensure safe and
stable permanent placements. GAOs analysis of HHSs state
child welfare agency reviews in 27 states corroborated caseworker
accounts, showing that large caseloads and worker turnover delay
the timeliness of investigations and limit the frequency of worker
visits with children, hampering agencies attainment of some key
federal safety and permanency outcomes.
Child welfare agencies have implemented
various workforce practices to improve recruitment and retention including
engaging in university-agency training partnerships and obtaining
agency accreditation, a goal achieved in part by reducing
caseloads and enhancing supervision but few of these initiatives
have been rigorously evaluated. 
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