Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Technology To Reduce The Burden Of Paperwork: Preliminary Lessons Learned From The Qic -Wd Virginia Site, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) partnered with the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) in 2017 to conduct research examining the efficacy of technology interventions aimed at reducing child welfare staff turnover and improving child welfare outcomes. Virginia is a state-supervised, countyadministered child welfare system. The state elected to study the implementation of and outcomes from job modernization technology interventions in 18 localities. These 18 localities represent a workforce of approximately 450 of the state’s 2,200 frontline staff. The intervention is occurring in multiple phases: (1) transcription services; (2) a mobility technology application; and (3) a Comprehensive …

Characteristics Of The Health Information Technology Workforce In Georgia, Imaobong Ekpo, Emmanuel Akowuah, Bettye Apenteng, Samuel T. Opoku

Department of Health Policy and Community Health Faculty Publications

Background: Advancement in medical technology, as well as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, has in part influenced the demand for health information technology (HIT) workers. While other sectors have experienced a tremendous increase in the information technology workforce, the health sector lags in this regard. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of the HIT workforce in Georgia, relative to surrounding states and the United States.

Methods: The supply of the HIT workforce in Georgia, surrounding states, and the United States was estimated using data from the 2014-2016 American Community Survey (ACS). …

The Effects Of Opioids On Kentucky's Workforce, Michael W. Clark, Jenny A. Minier, Charles J. Courtemanche, Bethany L. Paris, Michael T. Childress

CBER Research Report

From the executive summary:

Opioid abuse represents a significant and growing public health issue for both the nation and Kentucky. In 2016, opioids contributed to more than 62,000 deaths nationally and 1,406 deaths in Kentucky. National studies have placed the societal costs of opioid abuse at $55.7 billion in 2007 and $78.5 billion in 2013 (Birbaum et al. (2011) and Florence et al. (2016)). These costs included increased health care expenditures, higher criminal justice costs, and lost earnings due to reduced employment and premature deaths. The While House Council of Economic Advisors (2017) estimated the societal costs of opioid abuse …

Introducing Virginia’S Mobile Solution, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) and the 18 local departments of social services (LDSS) identified the lack of technological supports to help child welfare workers complete the administrative tasks of their job as a cause of turnover. The Virginia site rolled out the first part of their intervention (transcription services) in 2018 and is now preparing to roll out a mobile application in late fall 2019. This one-page summary describes COMPASS, Virginia’s mobile app designed to make it easier for workers to manage the administrative aspects of their job.

The Effect Of Smoking On Kentucky’S Workforce, Michael W. Clark, Jenny A. Minier, Charles J. Courtemanche, Bethany L. Paris, Michael T. Childress

CBER Research Report

Excerpt from the Executive Summary:

Smoking has been estimated to increase health care costs in the United States by $167.5 billion annually (Xu et al. 2015). In Kentucky, smoking adds $2.5 billion in health care expenditures each year. Most of these costs were paid by public programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. While these costs are significant, they represent only a portion of the costs that smoking imposes on society. Smoking also leads to poorer labor market outcomes. Smokers are more likely to be unemployed, earn lower wages, and die prematurely than non-smokers. These negative labor market effects reduce economic …

Designing Rigorous Tests Of Workforce Interventions In Complex Environments, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Public child welfare agencies continually struggle with how to address issues of staff recruitment and retention. Furthermore, very little evidence exists regarding what works to attract, select, and retain talented staff. Much of what agencies do to address workforce issues is never formally evaluated and successes are not published widely. Thus, agencies confronted with urgent retention needs have little to go on to identify an intervention that is likely to succeed. The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) was funded by the Children’s Bureau to begin to address this issue, in part through carefully selected, and rigorously evaluated interventions …

Using A Logic Model To Guide Workforce Interventions, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The QIC-WD uses logic models—visual representations that depict the resources that go into and expected results that will come out of the implementation of a program—to guide the implementation and evaluation of the selected interventions. A logic model is developed after the intervention is selected and must fit within the overall theory of change, as part of the exploration phase of the project. Read this summary (originally developed on behalf of the Center for States) by Dr. Megan Paul, the QIC-WD Workforce Team Lead, to learn more about why a jurisdiction should create a logic model and see what a …

The Economic Impact Of Diabetes In Kentucky, Michael W. Clark, Jenny A. Minier, Charles J. Courtemanche, Bethany L. Paris, Michael T. Childress

CBER Research Report

Excerpt from the Executive Summary:

The Kentucky Department of Public Health is responsible for improving the health and safety of Kentucky’s residents by preventing disease and injuries and encouraging healthy lifestyles. The department administers nearly 150 programs that address critical health issues affecting Kentuckians. These programs screen newborns for health problems, prevent the spread of infectious diseases, promote oral health, and provide numerous other services.

Diabetes represents a growing health concern for the nation and Kentucky. It is a chronic condition that causes blood sugar levels to rise and contributes to other serious health conditions such as heart and kidney …

Generational Differences In Organizational Culture, Andrew Mcclement

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

As the Baby Boomers exit the workforce, newer and younger generations’ workers will need to be hired and trained to fill these positions. Millennials entering the workforce will require evolving methodologies of leadership to retain talent. Studies to-date have focused on leadership styles and organizational culture and how they affect employee engagement. However, the bulk of these studies use information that may not be relevant to current Gen Z and Millennial workers. To address existing gap in knowledge, this study explores the differences of the current generations in the modern-day workforce leadership and what Millennial and Gen Z leaders will …

Post Millennial Generations In The Workforce, Tarynne Scott

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Post Millennials, defined as individuals born between the years of 1997 to present day and whom are currently between the ages of zero and twenty-one years old, are one of the largest generational cohorts to enter the workforce thus far (Ozkan, Soulmaz, 2015). Without understanding the characteristics of this generation, leaders could find themselves with followers they do not know how to motivate or communicate with (Seemiller, 2017, pg. 8). The purpose of this study is to explore and gain a deeper understanding of what Post Millennials need to be successful in the workforce, and how they differ in their …

Oklahoma Selects And Designs A Selection Intervention, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Oklahoma’s Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development Steering Committee has decided to refine the selection process for new child welfare workers as part of their ongoing commitment to hiring a dedicated, talented workforce and supporting that workforce in practice with children, youth, and families. The committee spent much of 2018 doing a thorough needs assessment and exploration of their child welfare recruitment and retention challenges. Through this process they recognized that interviewing strategies and hiring decisions are made inconsistently across the state. The team acknowledged that this could result in the selection of individuals who are not the best fit …

Australian Library Job Advertisements: Seeking Inclusion And Diversity, Kim M. Thompson, Rebecca Muir, Asim Qayyum

Faculty Publications

A growing body of literature is drawing our attention to on diversity in librarianship, arguing for improved diversity through better recruitment, retention, and career advancement of minority professionals. While much of the discussion about diversity in libraries is taking place in United States, this article attempts to extend the discussion, bringing attention to diversity in Australian librarianship through analysis of Australian library job ads. This article uses content analysis of 96 Australian job ads posted from 22 January to 3 February 2018 in key Australian library job search engines. The analysis focuses on how diversity is reflected in these ads, …

Louisiana Selects A Workforce Intervention: Job Redesign & Teaming, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

For several years prior to the current Administration, Louisiana suffered through an unstated policy of “Do More with Less”: Fewer employees, higher caseloads, less resources, and high employee turnover. In 2016, the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) leadership determined that supporting and stabilizing the child welfare workforce was a high priority. To strengthen its workforce, Louisiana will implement “Job Redesign and Teaming” as its QIC-WD intervention. The job redesign aspect of the intervention includes a comprehensive job analysis and process mapping to determine which tasks needed to be retained by the child welfare worker and which tasks …

Milwaukee Selects A Workforce Intervention: Organizational Culture & Climate, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMCPS) of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) will be implementing and testing an organizational culture and climate intervention called ARC, which stands for Availability, Responsiveness, & Continuity. ARC is an organizational change process that has improved outcomes in mental health settings by: 1) introducing core principles to guide service improvement efforts, 2) embedding research-based organizational components for service improvement, and 3) fostering attitudes necessary for ongoing service improvement. DMCPS employs approximately 185 State employees. These employees conduct initial child protective service assessments, oversee ongoing case management services delivered by private …

Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians Selects A Workforce Intervention: Onboarding, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Family Safety Program (FSP) serves the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) to provide high quality and innovative care, utilizing an integrated model to ensure client access to behavioral health services and targeted case management. To retain a competent and committed workforce and best serve children and families, FSP partnered with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) to be one of eight national project sites to test child welfare workforce interventions. In 2018, FSP conducted a workforce needs assessment, which revealed that staff had inconsistent job expectations for their own role and lacked understanding of the roles …

Gender Inequality For Men And Women At Work, Justyce Edgar

Sociology Student Work Collection

This presentation demonstrates societies view of men's work and women's work. We define key concepts like masculinity and femininity and then analyze how these ideas penetrate our work force today. With this notion, we then discuss how the workforce takes advantage of women and their work.

Washington Selects A Workforce Intervention: Telework, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will be implementing and testing the effectiveness of telework for child welfare field operations staff and their supervisors. DYCF is a stateadministered system with a total of 3,075 employees. There are approximately 1,600 field operation staff and 260 field operation supervisors that make up the majority of the child welfare workforce in the agency. A comprehensive workforce needs assessment showed a strong desire among employees to be able to work from home or an alternate work site. A telework policy existed but was inconsistently implemented, and the majority of employees …

Nebraska Selects A Workforce Intervention: Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) workforce intervention will address secondary traumatic stress (STS) among frontline staff and supervisors. Nebraska is a state-run child welfare system with about 400 Child and Family Service Specialists (CFSS) organized into five service areas across the state. Currently, the annual CFSS turnover rate in Nebraska is about 30%, but DCFS is committed to retaining and supporting high quality CFSS. Over the last year, DCFS has worked with the QIC-WD to review human resources (HR) data, feedback from the field (e.g., CFSS, supervisors, and administrators), and …

Training Program Effectiveness In Building Workforce Agility And Resilience, Olya Taran

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decades of qualitative case studies suggest that organizations must be able to deal with change effectively to compete and survive. Many researchers have linked higher workforce levels of agility and resilience to organizations' abilities to deal with change more successfully; however, there is a scarcity of empirical research addressing the efficacy of agility and resilience development in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine the development of workforce resilience and agility, as measured by FIT for Change assessment. The theory of planned behavior was the study's theoretical framework, theorizing that changing attitudes and beliefs about change …