Effective workload management in child welfare
Understanding the relationship between caseload and workload
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11196638 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jangmin Kim (0000-0001-8385-4295, School of Social Work Texas State University San Marcos Texas, corresponding author), Eun‐hye Yi (0000-0002-1094-1205, School of Social Work Indiana University Indianapolis Indiana), Barbara Pierce (0000-0002-7266-811X, School of Social Work Indiana University Indianapolis Indiana), James Hall (0000-0001-8002-0922, Department of Pediatrics Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis Indiana), James A Hall (0000-0001-6903-4135, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1095-1107 |
| Publication date | 2019-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/spol.12499 |
| OpenAlex | W2921285164 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 13 |
A common assumption in public social service organizations is that workload may be positively associated with caseload. However, few empirical studies have examined what specific characteristics of caseload affect caseworkers' workloads in the child welfare system. This study attempts to address this gap by identifying specific individual and regional factors that influence both subjective and objective dimensions of workloads. Survey data were collected from 1,244 caseworkers at one public child welfare agency in a Midwestern state in the United States. The data indicated that both perceptions of unmanageable workloads and self‐reported overtime work were significantly higher when caseworkers had a greater number of cases than the state caseload standard for the investigations units and worked with at least two different types of cases simultaneously (e.g., working with both investigation and ongoing service cases). Additionally, sufficient staffing numbers to meet caseload demands at the regional level significantly decreased the odds ratio of having to do overtime work. The major findings suggest that the objective and subjective dimensions of workload vary by individual‐ and regional‐level variables. Practice implications are discussed for effective and efficient workload management in the public child welfare system
Agency (philosophy · Business · Demographic economics · Economics · Labour economics · Logistic regression · Odds · Operations management · Overtime · Service (business · Staffing · Welfare · Work (physics · Workload · Engineering · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Homelessness and Social Issues · Marketing · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice
Promoting peer support and engagement in child welfare using communities of practice and virtual communities of practice
Patience and protocol
What makes a case difficult
Case Assignment Principles for Achieving Worker Well-Being, Organizational Justice, and Casework Quality
The stark implications of abolishing child welfare
Retention of child welfare caseworkers
A meta-analytic examination of the potential correlates and consequences of workload
Retention of front-line staff in child welfare
Workload Management in Social Work Services
The organizational structure of child welfare
Levels of stress and anxiety in child and family social work
The role of substance use in child welfare caseloads
Performance Management, Caseloads and the Frontline Provision of Social Services
Child Welfare Worker Caseload
Reduced working hours and stress in the Swedish social services
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1.2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |