Challenges Grow for Child Welfare Staffing

The General Assembly and other community leaders are striving to understand the many challenges facing county and private providers working in the Commonwealth’s child welfare field. The nature of working with the community’s most at-risk children and families, conducting a dramatically growing number of suspected abuse reports, and providing an array of services to children and youth in the dependency and delinquency systems, are daunting professional challenges for case workers and line supervisors. The challenging working conditions, vicarious traumatization, and the ever present fear of an error in judgment or action all contribute to an unacceptable rate of staff attrition across the state. The National Child Welfare Workforce Institute recently issued an infographic looking at the cost of staff turnover and the causes, impact, and potential solutions to this growing problem.