Organizational culture and retention in public child welfare services organizations

Workforce turnover is a significant problem in Public Child Welfare Services Agencies (PCWS) with estimated rates higher than 20% nationally and retention directly addresses this problem. The research represented in this dissertation focused on the organizational dynamics that affect retention in PCWS organizations following previous research on organizational dynamics and retention.A cross-sectional survey research design was employed with a convenience sample of 767-PCWS employees recruited from 11-agencies in Central California. Multilevel modeling was utilized to investigate relationships between organizational or group level constructs and retention in PCWS agencies and in the field of Child Welfare Services (CWS) as individual level outcome variables. Organizational culture was the primary focus of the study but service quality and organizational climate were included as group level constructs as well. Four individual level variables collectively termed "work attitudes" were also included in several analyses.Findings from the study revealed that hypotheses concerning the effects of organizational culture and service quality on retention were not supported. However, three of the work attitudes variables did have significant relationships with the outcome variables on the individual level. Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and commitment to the field of CWS all predicted organizational retention. Job satisfaction and commitment to the field predicted retention in the field of CWS. The relationships between job satisfaction and both retention outcome variables were moderated by organizational climate. Two specific types of organizational climate, stress and engagement, moderated relationships between job satisfaction and both criterion variables. When stress was high the relationships between job satisfaction and both types of retention were weaker. When stress was relatively low the relationships between job satisfaction and both types of retention were stronger. The relationships between commitment to the field and retention in the field of CWS were moderated in a similar manner by both the stress and engagement types of organizational climate.The implications of the study findings for policy and practice, such as the need to streamline roles and provide role clarity in Public Child Welfare Services organizations are offered.