Child Welfare Case Workers : Why do they Stay

The purpose of this study was to examine why child welfare case workers stay in practice. Child welfare work is critical in the protection of children against abuse/neglect and experienced child welfare case workers are a key component in our ability as a society to safeguard against the maltreatment of our most vulnerable population. However, the reasons why child welfare workers in the case work role stay in practice is lacking in the literature.;A basic qualitative research design was used for this study. Thirty-three child welfare workers responsible for providing direct services to families involved in the child welfare system were interviewed to determine why they have stayed in their roles. The participants were recruited from one child welfare agency in a Midwestern state and represented the private sector of the child welfare profession.;Five themes emerged from the study. First, participants possessed a personal connection to the work in that they liked their work. Many participants believed it was their identity, thought they made a difference, and were validated by their work. A second theme was characteristics of self as participants had a positive perception of themselves and identified areas of self-development. Third, the learning methods participants used to acquire knowledge regarding child welfare work included informal and experiential learning. Fourth, the coping strategies participants used to manage the negative effects of their work included having supportive relationships with work-related and non-work-related people and maintaining emotional distance and work/life balance, maintaining focus, using humor, and keeping things in perspective. Last, career path issues (for example, limited mobility and financial considerations) influenced the intention to stay in the field.;Five conclusions were drawn from this study. Supervisory support, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction have a significant influence on intention to stay among child welfare case workers. The effective use of coping strategies play a role in child welfare case workers' decisions to stay on the job. Last, informal and experiential learning better prepared participants to conduct child welfare case work. These findings have implications for education, policy, and practice.