Predictors of undesired turnover for child welfare workers.

The persistently high turnover of child welfare staff hampers the ability of agencies to adequately serve families, children, and youth. This article presents the results of an experimental retention study using baseline demographic and attitudinal data collected from a child welfare worker survey, combined with employment data from a human resource database. Survival analyses and multilevel regression models identify the strongest predictors of intent to leave and actual turnover. Implications for research-based recruitment and retention strategies are discussed.