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Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout And Resilience In The Child Welfare Workforce: Early Results From Nebraska’S Randomized Controlled Trial Of Resilience Alliance, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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A 2018 needs assessment indicated that more than 50% of the child welfare workforce in Nebraska was experiencing elevated secondary traumatic stress (STS). STS refers to the experience of people – generally professionals– who are exposed to others’ traumatic events as part of their work. As a result of this exposure, these professionals can develop their own traumatic symptoms and reactions such as sleeplessness and anxiety. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) implemented CFS Strong, a multi-phased workforce intervention …

Workload, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is workload?

There is no one, universally accepted definition of workload. A broad definition is that it is “an all-encompassing term that includes any variable reflecting the amount or difficulty of one’s work” (Bowling & Kirkendall, 2012, p. 222). Quantitative workload is the label for the amount of work done, and qualitative workload is the label for the difficulty of work (Bowling & Kirkendall, 2012). Further, there is a distinction between mental and physical workload and between objective and perceived workload (Bowling & Kirkendall, 2012). A variety of approaches have been used to measure objective workload. A common one …

Frontline Job Redesign Louisiana - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Child Welfare Division (CWD), in collaboration with the QIC-WD, implemented a frontline job redesign as its intervention. (For more information see Intervention Background.) An implementation team, including QIC-WD representatives, CWD leadership, child welfare staff from all levels of practice, and human resources and civil service representatives undertook development of the job redesign. Development of the intervention was guided by the following principles:

• children and families are the center and focus of the practice,
• a dual focus on prevention and permanency, requiring increased knowledge and skills in providing both parents and …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Evaluation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Research Questions

The site-level evaluation for Nebraska was designed to understand implementation of and outcomes related to CFS Strong and its component parts, including Resilience Alliance (RA), Peer Support Groups (PSG) and Restoring Resiliency Response© (RRR). Relationships among intervention components, outputs, and outcomes were mapped out in Nebraska’s logic model. Initial research questions of interest included how much participants were satisfied with the RA, PSG, and RRR sessions they attended. Furthermore, for RA, the evaluation measured how much facilitators adhered to the manualized RA program, whether group dynamics (e.g., engagement and conflict) were positive or negative, and how …

Onboarding Autism Employees In Technology Industry, Heung-For Cheng

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population experiences high unemployment, underemployment, and job turnover. Many people with autism have exceptional skills in areas, such as science, mathematics, and art. Companies in the technology industry are interested in tapping into the ASD talent pool because the industry cannot find enough qualified job applicants to meet the hiring demand. Few studies have focused on understanding how to help onboard ASD employees. Understanding the onboarding process can help technology firms retain ASD employees. In return, retaining this talent pool in the technology industry can continue to bring innovation. This research examined how a workplace …

Frontline Job Redesign Louisiana - Evaluation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The QIC-WD evaluation was conducted with the support of the Louisiana Department of Children and Families to determine if a Job Redesign was effective in improving workforce and child welfare outcomes.

Research Questions

A key research question concerned the extent to which the job redesign reduced the amount of time caseworkers spent on administrative tasks and increased time spent on clinical work with children and families. The QIC-WD also tested questions related to the expected effects of the redesign on workers’ perceptions of their job complexity, role overload, and work-life balance, and how these perceptions relate to job satisfaction, case …

Competency-Based Personnel Selection Oklahoma - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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A Competency-based Personnel Selection process was the intervention designed as part of the QIC-WD project to address inconsistencies in hiring and to identify candidates with the desired competencies to be hired as Child Welfare Specialist (CWS) I/II with Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) (for more information see the Site Overview). The Competency-based Personnel Selection process is a standardized hiring procedure that includes a structured interview with behaviorally anchored rating scales, a typing assessment, and a writing assessment. Additionally, research was conducted on a set of academic and commercial hiring assessments to determine how well these measures of personality, cognitive skills, …

Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Evaluation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The QIC-WD evaluation was conducted with the support of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Family Safety Program (EBCI FSP) to determine if an Onboarding intervention was effective in improving workforce outcomes.

Research Questions

The evaluation of the newly developed onboarding program for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Family Safety Program (EBCI FSP) was designed to understand both implementation and early outcomes. Examples of primary implementation questions from the new employee’s perspective included:

• To what degree was the new employee’s workspace ready on their first day?
• Did the new employee have individual meetings with their supervisor in weeks 1-5? …

Organizational Constraints, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are organizational constraints?

Organizational constraints are work conditions that interfere with an employee’s motivation or ability to perform (Spector & Jex, 1998). Though the overall definition sounds quite broad, the assessment focuses on 11 specific types of constraints: inadequate training, incorrect instruction, lack of necessary information about what to do or how to do it, poor equipment or supplies, lack of equipment or supplies, organizational rules and procedures, conflicting job demands, other employees, the supervisor, inadequate help from others, and interruptions by other people (Spector & Jex, 1998). Respondents indicate how frequently these factors make it difficult or impossible …

Supportive Supervision And Resilience Alliance To Address Secondary Trauma In Ohio: Preliminary Findings On Impact, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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In early 2018, as part of a needs assessment process, the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) conducted surveys with 588 Ohio child welfare workers across nine counties to assess organizational culture and climate (OCC), and secondary traumatic stress (STS). The results found that the organizational culture and climate across all participating counties was above average in rigidity and resistance, and below average in engagement. In addition, 53% of respondents experienced elevated levels of STS symptoms. STS can mimic the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Bride, 2007) including nightmares, sleep disruption, avoidance, and irritability. STS in child welfare has …

The Effects Of Perceived Organizational Justice Of Inclusive Talent Management Practices On Employee Work Effort, Thomas Kramer

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Talent management is an immature but growing topic for both researchers and practitioners. The academic literature identifies two conflicting approaches to talent management which vary in their level of inclusivity of employees. Researchers have concentrated on the exclusive approach, which identifies a small percentage of the workforce eligible for talent management initiatives. Through the lens of organizational justice, these studies have evaluated the individual and organization-level outcomes of the exclusive approach but have neglected the outcomes for those not selected for inclusion. This study sought to empirically assess a theoretical model that hypothesized a moderated mediation effect of organizational justice …

Cultural Intelligence, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is cultural intelligence?

Cultural intelligence (CQ) is “a person’s adaptation to new cultural settings and capability to deal effectively with other people with whom the person does not share a common cultural background and understanding” (Earley & Ang, 2003, p. 34). Note that this is about general capabilities that cut across different cultures, rather than effectiveness in a specific culture (Ang et al., 2015). Though this definition sounds like it includes all types of intercultural interactions, the focus is a bit more limited—work settings and situations that involve differences in race, ethnicity, and nationality, either within or across countries. …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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CFS Strong–Building a Resilient Workforce (known as CFS Strong) was the intervention designed as part of the QIC-WD project to address secondary traumatic stress (STS) among child welfare workers and supervisors in Nebraska’s Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) agency (for more information see the Site Overview). CFS Strong included multiple components:

• Resilience Alliance (RA), developed by the New York City Administration of Children’s Services-New York University Children’s Trauma Institute, to create a better and healthier work environment, and to help staff develop skills and behaviors that promote their physical and psychological well-being, thereby putting them in the …

Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Site Intervention Logic Model, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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four main components: inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Collectively, these demonstrate the resources and actions required to implement the program, as well as the associated result or changes anticipated through implementation of the program. The hypothesized relationships are represented by the pathways connecting the listed activities and anticipated outcomes. For more information see Site Overview.

Communication Is Key To Success, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

QIC-Tips

Research on organizational communication describes a connection between poor communication, negative attitudes towards the workplace, and decreased worker satisfaction. Conversely, in an environment where communication is valued by management, staff can be encouraged to participate in practice and policy change. Too often new initiatives are announced and then fade away. Clear lines of communication, involving varying levels of staff and using a variety of methods, are key to gaining staff buy-in and keeping workers informed of initiative progress.

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) is working with eight jurisdictions to develop and test promising workforce interventions. Effective communication …

Frontline Job Redesign Louisiana - Site Intervention Logic Model, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Each QIC-WD site developed a logic model to serve as a visual representation of their selected intervention. All logic models included four main components: inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Collectively, these demonstrate the resources and actions required to implement the program, as well as the associated result of changes anticipated through implementation of the program. The hypothesized relationships are represented by the pathways connecting the listed activities and anticipated outcomes.

Essays On Managerial Attributes And Corporate Finance, Juntai Lu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In my dissertation, I explore how managerial attributes affect corporate policies.

In my first essay, I examine the effects of public firm CEOs’ prior private equity (PE) target experiences on corporate policies. Based on difference-in-differences and propensity score matching analyses, public firm CEOs previously serving as CEOs in PE targets reduce investment by about 15 percent while enhancing patent values by over 7 percent after taking office compared to CEOs without such experiences. The effects are stronger if these CEOs (1) worked in targets invested by more reputable PE firms, (2) worked in targets invested by PE firms known for …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Intervention Logic Model, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Each QIC-WD site developed a logic model to serve as a visual representation of their selected intervention. All logic models included four main components: inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Collectively, these demonstrate the resources and actions required to implement the program, as well as the associated result or changes anticipated through implementation of the program. The hypothesized relationships are represented by the pathways connecting the listed activities and anticipated outcomes. For more information see Site Overview.

Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The QIC-WD coordinated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Family Safety Program (FSP) to create an onboarding program for child welfare social workers. The intervention was designed to address role clarity, social integration, and understanding of Cherokee history and culture for new hires. (For more information see the Site Overview.) The 5-week onboarding program included activities completed by the new employee, his/her supervisor, and other FSP team members. Onboarding program elements included:

• A structured, interactive review of FSP’s policies and procedures;
• A mock family case to illustrate the full case process;
• Content related to Cherokee culture, historical …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Logic Model, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Each QIC-WD site developed a logic model to serve as a visual representation of their selected intervention. All logic models included four main components: inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Collectively, these demonstrate the resources and actions required to implement the program, as well as the associated result of changes anticipated through implementation of the program. The hypothesized relationships are represented by the pathways connecting the listed activities and anticipated outcomes.