So you have a stable child welfare workforce — What's next?

The purpose of the study was to explore the contribution of personal and agency factors to job satisfaction, organizational commitment and retention indicators (intention to leave, preference for leaving, and looked for a job) in a state child welfare agency with fewer than eight percent turnover for five years. On balance, results from this analysis reveal that child welfare staff are satisfied with their jobs and dedicated to their work. Most significant is the finding that approximately 50% of the staff report that they would prefer to leave, but salary and benefits are a strong incentive to stay. Organizational culture appears to be the contributing factor to this finding. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.