Workforce Strategies

1. Workforce Strategies Introduction • Service cutbacks are occuring because of the shortage of a competent workforce. • Recruiting has become a significant challenge. • Staff turnover, nationally, is 40% for private child welfare agencies. • Salaries in human services have not kept pace with other service industries. • Inexperienced staff are having a negative effect on child protective decisions.

2. Workforce Strategies Strategies Agency-Centric Approach - Most workforce strategies are endocentric to an agency. It is addressed like any other internal management issue. • Strengths-Positions individual agency competitively. • Weakness-The Problem is a systemic problem.

3. Workforce Strategies Strategies-continued • Systemic Approach-The workforce crisis has to be address as the sum of all its parts: • Industry Attractiveness • Salaries and Benefits • Training • Career Development

4. Workforce Strategies State Strategies • State Associations representing child welfare agencies have various strategies for addressing the workforce crisis. • Georgia • Maryland • Illinois • New York

5. Workforce Strategies Maryland Jim McComb Maryland Assoc.ofResources for Fam & Youth

6. Workforce Strategies Illinois Margaret Berglind IllinoisChild Care Association of Illinois

7. Workforce Strategies New York New York Council of Family & Child  Caring Agencies

8. Workforce Strategies Georgia Georgia Association of Homes and Services  For Children

9. Workforce Strategies Georgia – Together We Will Make it Happen • Website Tools – • Collaboration of Agencies – Shared Marketing for human service workers • University System Collaboration • Public/Private Collaboration

10. Workforce Strategies Georgia – Together We Will Make it HappenWebsite Tools –www.gahsc.org/nm/wft/tools/ • Certification Tools • Marketing Tools • Job Bank • Training Tools • Collaborators

11. Workforce Strategies Georgia – Together We Will Make it Happen • Colaboration of Agencies – Shared Marketing for human service workers • Marketing firm will provide: • brochures, • employee newsletters, • public service announcements, • employee satisfaction surveys, and • central intake number.

12. Workforce Strategies Georgia – Together We Will Make it Happen • University System Collaboration • Internship Programs • Marketing to Social Work Programs • Newsletters to Social Worker Students

13. Workforce Strategies Georgia – Together We Will Make it Happen Public/Private Collaboration • State Agencies facing same dilemma in the workforce crisis. Same strategies required. • Collaborating together makes sense. • Shared workforce • Same children and families • Builds partnerships • Use of public money is benefit for private agencies • Use of private advocacy is benefit for public agencies.

14. Workforce Strategies In Sub-ConclusionGeorgia – Together We Will Make it Happen • It is a systems issue. • Requires a systemic approach. • Requires a team effort by all players. • An Association can play important leadership role.

15. Workforce Strategies In Conclusion – • States have various approaches. • State Associations play important leadership role • Collaboration is important. • Systemic Issues are important.

16. Workforce Strategies Questions?

17. Maryland Association of Resources For Familiesand Youth “Priority 1” 2002Workforce Development Initiative

18. MARFY’s 2002 Action Plan • Priority 1: Responding to the Workforce Crisis Goal: To enable agencies serving children and their families to effectively recruit, and retain qualified staff with an immediate emphasis on direct care staff, i.e., child care workers, counselors, social workers, case managers, and aides.

19. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanTask Force Convened • A diverse group of stakeholders including MARFY members, other provider groups, higher education institutions, public child welfare, juvenile justice and education agencies, parent advocates, and other representatives from government and business sectors who are focused on workforce issues.

20. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanWhat Do We Expect From Members of the Task Force? • Participate on committees or identify staff for committees who bring knowledge and skills in areas of compensation, workforce qualifications, and recruitment/retention. • Serve as consultants to the committee chairs (guidance, resources, ideas) • Assist the Steering Committee in identifying best practices in workforce development outside of human services. • Meet regularly with task force

21. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanCommittees Formed • Steering Committee • Workforce and Workplace Standards Committee • Recruitment and Retention Committee • Compensation Committee

22. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanWorkforce Compensation Committee • Objective: • Achieve adequate compensation • Strategies: • Get data/information on worker compensation, retention and turnover (Compensation Survey) • Inform state agency officials, legislators and policy makers about the need for improved compensation and the implication of failing to provide it. • Advocate for improved program funding tied to direct care staff salaries and wages

23. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanWorkforce & Workplace Standards Comm. Priority Objective: Establish child and youth care professional qualification standards Strategies: • Establish need for child and youth care professional certification • Identify child and youth care roles and functions and related competencies and skills • Develop two and four year post secondary curricula and instruction strategies • Establish standards and procedures for competency assessment and certification

24. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanRecruitment and Retention Committee Objective: Enable child and family serving agencies to recruit and retain qualified staff Strategies: • Create Best Practice Guide for staff recruitment & retention • Develop on-line capacity to post position openings and resumes • Development centralized recruitment network which includes screening and referral

25. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanWorkforce Development Survey Results • Number of Locations Represented: 189 • Number of Employees Represented: 5,898 • Number of Families Served: Over 16,477 families

26. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanCompensation

27. Benefits

28. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanTurnover Percentages

29. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanTurnover Percentages

30. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanMost Common ReasonsWhy Employees Resigned • Obtained other employment in the same field with a higher salary (69% of respondents) • Relocation (35% of respondents) • Dissatisfaction with the Work Schedule or Hours (29%) • Accepted a Position in a Different Field (29%) • Returned to School/Education (23%)

31. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanAverage Vacancy Rates 49 Total Responses

32. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanEstimated Vacancy Rate Percentage of positions reported as vacant compared to budgeted positions

33. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanTop Five Recruitment Strategies • Newspaper/Print Ads (69%) • Employee Referrals (41%) • Internet Advertising (35%) • Job Fairs (29%) • Word of Mouth (22%)

34. MARFY’s 2002 Action PlanTop Five Retention Strategies • Salary Program Improvements (44%) • Improve Work Environment (31%) • Benefit Program Improvements (29%) • Develop or Improve Training Programs (23%) • Flexible Scheduling (17%)

35. IllinoisCHILD CARE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS AGENCIES • 80% child welfare privatized in voluntary agencies • Residential Care used for juvenile corrections/probation cases • Significant percent of special education in non-public schools • Special state licensure by state child welfare agency required for direct service employees and supervisors

36. IllinoisCHILD CARE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS AGENCIES • 95 Member Agencies • 164,000 Children & Adolescents Served by Member Agencies • 129,000 Families Served by Member Agencies • 14,000 Full Time Equivalent Staff TURNOVER RATES • 22%-150% Range • 35% Average

37. IllinoisCHILD CARE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS AGENCIES ASSOCIATION STRATEGIES TRAINING • Foundation Training for Direct Service License Applicants designed with private/public collaboration • Illinois received IV-E waiver to provide enhanced training for private sector staff • Association staff and members serve on Advisory Committees to evaluate and review training • Association members serve on Licensure Board • Association staff and members developing new Basic Training for Residential Care workers in collaboration with state agency and public university

38. IllinoisCHILD CARE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS AGENCIES ASSOCIATION STRATEGIES SALARY AND BENEFIT STUDY • Three studies over four years • General report • Specific report for individual agency review and comparison

39. IllinoisCHILD CARE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS AGENCIES ASSOCIATION STRATEGIES LEGISLATIVE • Work Force Summit with Congressional and State Legislative Aides • Legislation on loan forgiveness • Testimony on Work Force crisis and status of child welfare workers • Testimony and Work Force information distributed to Illinois Congressional delegation .

40. IllinoisCHILD CARE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS AGENCIES MEMBER CAPACITY BUILDING Panels/presentations at Membership Meetings highlight challenges/solutions .

41. IllinoisCHILD CARE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS AGENCIES FUTURE CHALLENGES • Assuring Quality Training continues • Federal and State legislation • Reimbursement rates for contractual services • Agency Challenges • What we don’t know about the problem, our staff • Changing practices/traditions/policies .

42. New York State THE PROBLEMIn New York State last year: • Almost 40% of the residential child care workers left their positions • Over 30% of caseworkers were new hires; the figure is even higher in foster family boarding home programs… • On any given day almost 10% of the child care worker positions were vacant. . . • Children stay in foster care longer than their workers stay in their jobs…

43. New York State WHY? • Our agencies were only able to offer starting salaries to those child care workers of $19,471 • And to caseworkers of $25,598 • Our average caseworker salaries are from 22 to 52% lower than what the average bachelor level person makes in NYS.

44. New York State As a membership association of not-for-profit child welfare providers we have a two pronged approach to our work related to the Workforce Crisis. #1. When we talk to the public or to our funders in government we need to be very clear as the problem: It’s the salary Stupid!

45. New York State #We need to acknowledge that there are ideas, concepts, and approaches agencies can adopt to improve recruitment and retention of staff • Symposium on Workforce Crisis • Regional Human Resources Directors Quarterly Meetings • Salary and Turnover Survey • Starting and average salaries for all key titles.(Caseworker, ccw, supervisors, teacher, nurse, clinicians) • Middle management titles • Vacancy rates • Education levels

46. New York State Survey Cont’d • Vacation, sick leave, holidays • Health insurance costs • Unionization • Fringe benefit %

47. Workforce Strategies In Conclusion • State have various approaches • State Associations play important leadership role • Collaboration is important • Systemic Issues are important

48. Workforce Strategies • Questions?