Professionalization in public child welfare: Historical context and workplace outcomes for social workers and non-social workers

This article recaps the historic role of the U.S. Children's Bureau in the development and professionalization of public child welfare services. A review of the empirical literature explores relationships between professional preparation and outcomes in service delivery, job performance and preparedness, social work values, and retention of staff. This review informs the evaluation study, which draws from a longitudinal appraisal of almost 10,000 child welfare workers in Texas, about one third with degrees in social work. The study found significant differences between the experiences and perceptions of those with social work degrees and those with degrees in other fields.

► 3086 social workers and non-social workers completed the initial survey. ► Social workers scored higher on the exit exam from the three month training program ► Social workers rated supervisors higher in terms of facilitating their learning ► Social workers felt more capable doing assessments