Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University, New York, NY 10033, USA.
Soc Work. 2010 Jan;55(1):47-53. doi: 10.1093/sw/55.1.47.
Child welfare workforce turnover rates across private and public child welfare agencies are concerning. Although research about the causes of child welfare workforce turnover has been plentiful, empirical studies on the effects of turnover on child outcomes are sparse. Furthermore, the voices and experiences of youths within the system have been largely overlooked.The purpose ofthis study was, first, to explore the experiences and opinions about child welfare workforce turnover and retention of youths in the child welfare system; second, to explore a relationship between the number of caseworkers a youth has had and his or her number of foster care placements; and third, to harness the suggestions of youths in resolving the turnover problem. Youths in the child welfare system (N = 25) participated in focus groups and completed a small demographic survey. Findings suggest that youths experience multiple effects of workforce turnover, such as lack of stability; loss of trusting relationships; and, at times, second chances. The article concludes with suggestions for caseworkers, state trainers, local and state administrators, and social work researchers on engaging with youths in relationships that facilitate genuine systems change around social work practice and the child welfare workforce crisis.
儿童福利工作者在私营和公共儿童福利机构中的离职率令人担忧。尽管关于儿童福利工作者离职原因的研究很多，但关于离职对儿童结果影响的实证研究却很少。此外，系统内青少年的声音和经验在很大程度上被忽视了。本研究的目的首先是探讨儿童福利系统中青少年对儿童福利工作者离职和留用的经历和看法；其次是探讨青少年的个案工作者数量与他或她的寄养安置数量之间的关系；第三，利用青少年的建议来解决离职问题。儿童福利系统中的青少年（N=25）参加了焦点小组并完成了一项小型人口统计调查。研究结果表明，青少年经历了多次劳动力流动的影响，例如缺乏稳定性；失去信任关系；有时还会失去第二次机会。文章最后就如何让青少年参与到关系中，促进社会工作实践和儿童福利工作者危机方面的真正系统变革，为个案工作者、州培训师、地方和州管理人员以及社会工作研究人员提出了建议。
