Introduction
This report introduces the first Child Welfare Workforce study, which was carried out as part of the third cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW III). The NSCAW III Child Welfare Workforce Study explores characteristics and activities of the child welfare workforce from 2021 to 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, within 61 nationally representative agencies that participated in NSCAW III. This report describes the sample design, instrumentation, data collection methods, and demographic characteristics of the workforce participants. In addition to describing core contextual aspects of the child welfare workforce, study timing allowed for the inclusion of research questions about the policy and practice impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the first report in a series that provides analysis of data collected from caseworkers, supervisors, and agency directors in participating child welfare agencies during the baseline wave of NSCAW III. Workplace data collection began in January 2021 and was completed in June 2022.
The Child Welfare Workforce Study is part of NSCAW III and was conducted by RTI International through a contract from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with ACF’s Children’s Bureau. The study is currently authorized by Social Security Act § 429 [42 U.S.C. 628b
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to introduce the Child Welfare Workforce study by describing the rationale, research questions, design, methods, instrumentation, and sample characteristics. The NSCAW III Child Welfare Workforce Study sought to better understand four topic areas relevant to the child welfare system (CWS) context: workforce characteristics and competencies; recruitment, hiring, and onboarding; training and professional development; and organizational factors.
Key Findings and Highlights
- The NSCAW III Child Welfare Workforce Study includes 48 agency directors, 126 supervisors, and 183 caseworkers which is representative of about 74% of child welfare agencies, 77% of supervisors, and 82% of caseworkers in the United States.
- Most participating child welfare agencies are in non-metro areas (77.3%) and are state administered (65.5%).
- Most agency directors (77.3%), supervisors (80.9%), and caseworkers (83%) who participated are female.
- More caseworkers (20.5%) identified as Black or African American as compared to supervisors (14.0%) and agency directors (14.3%).
- Nearly one-fifth of caseworkers (18%), 11.7% of supervisors, and 13.5% of agency directors are Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino.
Methods
The sample for the workforce data collection followed a nested design that was derived from the 61 nationally representative child welfare agencies participating in NSCAW III. Directors who agreed to participate in the workforce survey identified agency supervisors. Then, participating agency supervisors identified caseworker supervisees. Unique but complementary surveys were created for agency directors, supervisors, and caseworkers. Surveys were conducted between January 2021 and June 2022. Caseworker and supervisor surveys were collected primarily via web and telephone. Agency director surveys were completed via phone and more rarely in-person.
Data collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and should be interpreted within this historical context as it is possible this context influenced responses or sampling (e.g., respondents may have taken on caregiving responsibilities, may not have had adequate time to complete the survey, or may have been experiencing elevated levels of stress related to the pandemic).
Recommendations
Data from NSCAW I, NSCAW II, and NSCAW III are archived in the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN). Detailed information about the survey design, manuals, and codebooks are available for restricted release download to researchers who are approved to use the data, see User Support: National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) (hhs.gov) .
Citation
Armstrong, J.M., McCarthy, M., Kluckman, M., Ringeisen, H., & Dolan, M. (2024). Snapshot of the Child Welfare Workforce from 2021 to 2022: NSCAW III Workforce Study Design, Data Collection, and Sample Characteristics. OPRE Report #2024-025. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services