Public Policy Commons^™

Technology, Case Practice, And Turnover: Early Findings From Virginia, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Listening sessions conducted by Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) staff with child welfare staff across the state and exit survey results from the 120 local departments of social services (LDSS) found that the biggest complaint among caseworkers, particularly those leaving their jobs, was the lack of technological supports and flexibility to help them complete administrative tasks more quickly. VDSS, in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QICWD), designed a multi-phase case-supportive technology intervention to help child welfare caseworkers complete their case notes and other administrative tasks required as part of their job. The goals of the …

Untapped Potential For Child Welfare Administrative Data, Dana Hollinshead

QIC-Takes

Although a lot of data are captured through child welfare management information systems, there is much we still need to learn about the experiences of children and families involved in child protective services, and especially why some fare better than others. This is especially true with respect to dynamics that may influence caseworkers’ decisions, actions, and case outcomes. For example, are there certain caseworkers or service providers who are more effective in engaging families? Is there something about the type or dosage of services that makes a difference? Which workers or supervisory units are more likely to place a child …

Worker Turnover Is A Persistent Child Welfare Challenge--So Is Measuring It, Megan Paul, Courtney Harrison, Jonathan Litt, Michelle Graef

QIC-Takes

Turnover and other workforce challenges for child welfare professionals have been the subject of attention for many years. Consider this statement from a study published by the Children’s Bureau in 1960, “Turnover of staff in social agencies has been a serious concern of agency administrators for at least the past 10 years. Repeatedly, at conferences and in the professional journals, the complaint has been heard that staff turnover (1) handicaps the agency in its efforts to provide effective social services for clients; (2) is costly and unproductively time consuming; and (3) is responsible for the weary cycle of recruitmentemployment-orientation-production-resignation …” …

Supervision In A Virtual Workplace, Cynthia F. Parry

QIC-Takes

Some agencies have increased their use of telework due to office closures, a desire to decrease their carbon footprint, or because of the pandemic. This can add stress on supervisors as they have to manage staff virtually. Remote supervision requires changes in communication (both styles and tools) which can result in staff feeling micromanaged or neglected. Navigating these and other issues have been difficult for many child welfare agencies. The QIC-WD sites, like other child welfare agencies around the country, pivoted to virtual supervision quickly due to the pandemic. Most supervisors were unprepared for managing a virtual workforce and are …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Theory Of Change, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Several workforce challenges were discussed as opportunities for intervention during the needs assessment process conducted partnership with the Nebraska Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS) to address child welfare workforce turnover. Through a series of steps and causal links, a theory of change provides a roadmap to address the root causes of an identified workforce problem and describes how and why changes are expected to lead to the desired outcomes. Ultimately, two theories of change were developed to step through the “if, then” logic:

1. building resiliency skills within child welfare workers and supervisors; and
2. implementing a debriefing protocol focused …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Theory Of Change, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Through a series of steps and causal links, a theory of change provides a roadmap to address the root causes of an identified workforce problem and describes how and why changes are expected to lead to the desired outcomes. In Milwaukee, the theory of change was driven by the results of the Organizational Social Context (OSC) Measure administered during the needs assessment process. More specifically, the OSC showed that there were several aspects of both culture and climate that were in need of improvement, including 1) a hierarchical and rigid decision-making structure, 2) high role conflict and change resistance within …

A Call To Dismantle Systemic Racism In Criminal Legal Systems, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Margaret C. Stevenson

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: In October 2021, APA passed a resolution addressing ways psychologists could work to dismantle systemic racism in criminal legal systems. The present report, developed to inform APA’s policy resolution, details the scope of the problem and offers recommendations for policy and psychologists to address the issue by advancing related science and practice. Specifically, it acknowledges the roots of modern-day racial and ethnic disparities in rates of criminalization and punishment for people of color as compared to White people. Next, the report reviews existing theory and research that helps explain the underlying psychological mechanisms driving racial and ethnic disparities …

Stay-At-Home Fathers: What Is Their Life Really Like? An Intimate Portrayal, Christi Ann Hosking

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Reinforced by years of gender stereotypes is modern societies’ definition of masculinity, which has long been characterized by breadwinning and providing. Current literature has observed the growing trend which finds an increasing number of men engaged in the role of caregiver and the dynamic change in the home-work balance. Only a few studies looked at what life is like for a stay-at-home father and even fewer have allowed these fathers a unique voice for sharing their story. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of what day to day life was really like as a stay-at-home …

Towards A Psychological Science Of Abolition Democracy: Insights For Improving Theory And Research On Race And Public Safety, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Phillip Atiba Goff

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We call for psychologists to expand their thinking on fair and just public safety by engaging with the “Abolition Democracy” framework that Du Bois (1935) articulated as the need to dissolve slavery while simultaneously taking affirmative steps to rid its toxic consequences from the body politic. Because the legacies of slavery continue to produce disparities in public safety in the U.S, both harming Black people and the institutions that could keep them safe, psychologists must take seriously questions of history and structure in addition to immediate situations. In the present article, we consider the state of knowledge regarding psychological processes …

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …

Evaluating Job Redesign: Strategies And Preliminary Findings From Louisiana, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Child Welfare Division (CWD), in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) conducted a needs assessment of their child welfare system. The needs assessment indicated high caseloads and administrative tasks were barriers to caseworkers’ ability to support families, engage clients, determine root causes of maltreatment, and implement timely services. Furthermore, surveys conducted with caseworkers revealed that they perceived their jobs as highly complex - requiring a wide range of tasks, a variety of specialized skills, and a high degree of information processing. These findings resulted in CWD and the …

Workplace Incivility, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is workplace incivility?

Workplace incivility refers to “low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect. Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard for others” (Anderson & Pearson, 1999, p. 457). Though there is some conceptual and empirical overlap between incivility and ostracism, bullying, and abusive supervision, incivility is considered distinct (Yao et al., 2021). Incivility has been examined from the perspective of both the victim and the instigator, exploring factors related to being the target of incivility and factors related to engaging in uncivil …

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

Other QIC-WD Products

The Implementation Team

The QIC-WD worked with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Child Welfare Division (CWD) to establish an Implementation Team to lead the development and implementation of their intervention. The Implementation Team included the Site Implementation Manager (SIM); the project Training and Coaching Specialist; the Data Coordinator; representatives from Human Resources (HR), Civil Service and the Department’s training unit; representatives from the intervention parishes (from administrators to frontline workers); and three members of the QIC-WD (representing expertise in workforce, implementation, and evaluation). Members were selected for their leadership abilities, knowledge, experience, and their willingness …

Behavior Modeling Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is behavior modeling training?

Behavior modeling training (BMT) involves the following five steps: “(a) describing to trainees a set of well-defined behaviors (skills) to be learned, (b) providing a model or models displaying the effective use of those behaviors, (c) providing opportunities for trainees to practice using those behaviors, (d) providing feedback and social reinforcement to trainees following practice, and (e) taking steps to maximize the transfer of those behaviors to the job” (Taylor et al., 2005, p. 692). BMT can be used to train a variety of skills, from interpersonal skills like conflict management, interviewing, assertive communication, and …

From Conflict To Covid: How Shared Experiences Shape Our World And How They Could Improve It, Harvey Whitehouse

New England Journal of Public Policy

The human capacity for cooperation is at the root of many of the most impressive accomplishments of our species—from the evolution of language and tool use to the construction of pyramids and space stations. Although some forms of cooperation are motivated by self-interest or fear of punishment, the forms of cooperation that are most likely to succeed in the face of personal costs stem from love of the group. In this article, I consider one of the most intense forms of ingroup love known to psychology—identity fusion—resulting from shared suffering, from the battlefield and football pitch to the hospital ward …

Signaling In Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is signaling?

In a learning environment, signaling refers to cues that direct learners’ attention to specific instructional content or that emphasize how the content is organized (van Gog, 2014). Signals can be verbal (oral or written) or visual (static or dynamic images or graphics). More commonly studied examples include:

signals in written materials: underlining, italics, bold, highlighting, outlines, headings, overviews, and summaries

signals in visual materials: arrows, circles, flashing, color coding, spotlighting (graying out some content), zooming in on key content, and gestures of pedagogical agents

When signals are used only in written text (i.e., without accompanying visuals), they …

Secondary Traumatic Stress (Sts) – Its Impact On The Child Welfare Workforce And Strategies For Agencies To Address It, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) can mimic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bride, 2007). These symptoms include having dreams and flashbacks of the traumatic event, avoiding activities or places that might remind someone of the traumatic event, having sleep issues, being irritable, difficulty concentrating, or being hypervigilant. In this video, child welfare staff share how the trauma they experience as part of their job affects them, including physical and emotional reactions and the desire to leave the field. Unfortunately, experiencing STS is very common among the child welfare workforce. Although child welfare is not the only profession that is exposed …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Implementation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Implementation Team

The QIC-WD worked with the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMPCS) to establish an implementation team to lead the development and implementation of the workforce project. The implementation team was composed of representatives from Human Resources; Quality Assurance; DMCPS frontline staff, supervisors, and administrators; Department of Children and Families state office leaders, the Site Implementation Manager (SIM), and three members of the QIC-WD (representing expertise in workforce, implementation, and evaluation).

The implementation team met monthly, face-to-face for the first year of the project. During these meetings, the SIM led the team in discussions about intervention development, implementation …

Improving The Child Welfare Workforce Through Training: Common Questions And Evidence-Informed Answers From The Qic-Wd, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

QIC-Tips

Training is often the first intervention child welfare agencies use to address critical workforce development issues. This QIC-Tip aims to answer child welfare agency leaders’ questions about effective training strategies to increase knowledge, enhance skills, and improve job performance. Answers are drawn from the QIC-WD Umbrella Summaries which present a synopsis of the published meta-analyses of specific workforce topics.

What broad-based training approaches can improve employee learning outcomes and job performance?

Coaching uses a structured learning process, over time, to help the learner reach specific goals. Meta-analytic research on the use of professional coaches (not managers or experienced coworkers) …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Site Overview, 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) has approximately 185 State employees, responsible for the delivery of child protective services and ongoing case management services through contract agencies in Milwaukee County. DMCPS performs intake and investigative functions, while ongoing casework is managed by partner agencies in the community.

The majority of DMCPS staff work in the Access Section (hotline) and the Initial Assessment Bureau (IAB). Within the IAB was a constellation of Initial Assessment Specialists (IAS), mentors, supervisors, and program directors, who are led by the Bureau Director. While the …

Self-Explanation In Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is self-explanation?

Self-explanation is “a process by which learners generate inferences about causal connections or conceptual relationships” (Bisra et al., 2018). It involves pausing to think more deeply about instructional content, to better connect it with prior knowledge or to check for understanding. Self-explanations can be prompted (through specific instructions or questions) or unprompted (done spontaneously by a learner). Prompts can include instructions to explain, open-ended questions, or closed-ended questions such as multiple choice (Bisra et al., 2018). There is no one type of self-explanation. Examples include providing rationale for a decision or belief and explaining a concept, process, …

Advancing Behavioral Health Literacy, James Scollione

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Accessing, comprehending, and using information to make informed decisions and improve one’s overall health or well-being are the foci of health literacy. The concept of behavioral health was introduced in the early 1980s and, since then, it has influenced new ideas (e.g., behavioral health literacy and integrated behavioral health care) and gained research and public attention. My aim is to provide an overview of definitions (i.e., health literacy, mental health literacy, and behavioral health literacy) and their connection to each other. I propose an expanded and honed definition of behavioral health literacy to enhance the behavioral health literacy and well-being …

Time Management, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is time management?

The definition of time management varies across disciplines, researchers, and practitioners. In the context of workplace research, one suggested definition is “behaviours that aim at achieving an effective use of time while performing certain goal-directed activities” (Claessens et al., 2007, p. 262). Another is “a form of decision making used by individuals to structure, protect, and adapt their time to changing conditions” (Aeon & Aguinis, 2017, p. 311). Most research on time management has used self-report measures; diaries and ratings by others (e.g., supervisors) are used much less frequently. Of the self-report measures, no one measure …

Leadership Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is leadership training?

Leadership training is a broad term with no universal definition. For the purposes of this review, it refers to “programs that have been systematically designed to enhance leader knowledge, skills, abilities, and other components” and it includes “all forms of leader, managerial, and supervisory training/development programs and/or workshops” (Lacerenza et al., 2017, p. 1687). As with all training, leadership training can vary in many ways. Below are some of the more common aspects that have been empirically evaluated:

Needs analysis: whether a systematic process was used to identify training needs and design the training accordingly

Content: …

Conversational Style In Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is conversational style?

Conversational style refers to a combination of stylistic strategies to personalize instructional text (oral or written) for learners. These include “the use of first and second rather than third person, directly addressing the reader, revealing [the author’s] personal beliefs, and/or using polite forms of address” (Ginns et al., 2013, p. 452). The following excerpts illustrate such styles:

“During inhaling, the [your] diaphragm moves down creating more space for the [your] lungs” (Mayer et al., 2004)

“Let me tell you what happens when lightning forms” (vs. just the scientific description; Moreno & Mayer, 2000)

“You are about …

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

Other QIC-WD Products

The Implementation Team

The QIC-WD worked with Nebraska Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to establish an implementation team to lead the development and implementation of their intervention to address secondary traumatic stress. The implementation team was called the Nebraska Workforce Project Team. It included a representative from each of the five geographic regions of the state (known as a Service Areas), a representative from each staff level (worker, supervisor, administrator), the Site Implementation Manager (SIM), the Data Coordinator, sponsors (the DCFS director and Human Resources [HR] director), and three members of the QIC-WD (representing expertise in workforce, implementation, …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Evaluation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The QIC-WD evaluation was conducted with the support of the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMCPS) to determine if an Organizational Change Process intervention (Availability Responsiveness Continuity or ARC) was effective in improving workforce and child welfare outcomes.

Research Questions

Process Evaluation

1. Did the ARC purveyor follow the training curriculum with fidelity and quality delivery?
2. Did the ARC Team Leaders follow the ARC implementation model with fidelity and quality?
3. Were participants satisfied with the quality of leadership, training, and group dynamics?
4. Did participants learn the required concepts and skills?
5. What were the mediators of fidelity and training outcomes?
6. Did …

Data Segmentation (Video), Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Workforce Analytics Resources

Data segmentation is the process of breaking down “big” data into smaller, more meaningful groups, called segments. In the case of workforce data, each segment represents a group of people with similar characteristics, either that pertain to them as an individual (e.g., gender, race, educational background) or to their connection to the organization (e.g., their job title, supervisor, or work schedule).

There are a variety of ways to “slice and dice” your data into meaningful groups. Some possibilities are listed below. The squares represent the unit of categorization (e.g., agency structure), and dashed green squares represent the data segments (e.g., …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Implementation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Implementation Team The QIC-WD worked with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), through the Office of Families and Children (OFC), to establish an implementation team to lead the development and implementation of their supportive supervision and resiliency intervention. After recruiting nine counties to participate in the QIC-WD project, the Workforce Implementation Team (WIT) initially was composed of representatives from the nine public children services agencies including administrators, managers, and human resources staff, the Site Implementation Manager (SIM), the Data Coordinator, OFC leadership, and three members of the QIC-WD (representing expertise in workforce, implementation, and evaluation). The …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Evaluation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The QIC-WD evaluation was conducted with the support of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to determine if a Supportive Supervision and Resiliency intervention, known as Coach Ohio, was effective in improving workforce and child welfare outcomes. Research Questions The site-level evaluation for Ohio was designed to understand implementation of and outcomes related to the Coach Ohio intervention and its component parts: (1) the ACCWIC Coaching Model for managers and supervisors to introduce the key principles of supportive supervision and (2) Resilience Alliance (RA) groups for supervisor and frontline workers to enhance coping in the face of exposure …