The Human Cost of High CPS Turnover 

• A 30% (40% in some urban areas) turnover rate is the highest risk factor CPS faces in ensuring the safety and appropriate placement and permanency of our abused and neglected Texas children.
• Children achieve permanency in a timelier basis the fewer the number of changing caseworkers per child.
• In one study, children had a 74.5% chance of achieving permanency in one year with one constant caseworker.  If children change caseworkers 6-7 times, they had only .1% of a chance of achieving permanency in one year. 

  The Financial Cost of High CPS Turnover 

Turnover costs approximately $15,997 per CPS investigative worker and $14,549 per other caseworker.[1] 

2006 Lost CPS Workers: 1077

1032 Caseworkers

45 Supervisors

Replacement Costs = > $15,000 per worker 

1077 x $15,000 =

$16,155,000 lost dollars per year on turnover 

Top CPS Caseworker Turnover Factors 

A structural equation model of burnout and job exit among child protective service workers shows that the top reasons caseworkers leave their jobs are as follows[5]:

1. High Caseloads and High Workload
2. Supervision Quality (often top factor)
3. Inadequate Pay
4. Inadequate education, preparation and training (tied) Tough working conditions
5. Lack of recognition for a job well-done
6. Paperwork demands
7. Chronic stress, emotional exhaustion, lack of support
8. Liability concerns

Caseloads

Current caseloads for Investigators have been reduced from an adjusted mid-50’s to approximately 30 cases per worker[6] due to the massive hiring of new investigators in the past two years.

 

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As noted in the following chart, all other caseworkers’ workload projections were not adjusted to account for the increased number of children entering the system with the increase in investigations.

As a result, caseworkers providing Conservatorship (CVS), Family Based Safety Services (FBSS), Family Adopt casework (FAD) and Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) caseworkers experienced a commensurate increase in caseloads reflecting the additional number of investigations

The National Average caseload is seen in the far right bar in each of the previous two charts:  24 cases per worker is almost twice the level recommended by the CWLA, COA of CFS and CAPTA standards of 12-19 cases per worker[7].

If we don’t reduce caseworkers’ caseloads to at least the national average, we will fail to address turnover and should continue to expect inexperienced decision-making and increased child deaths. High caseloads also translate into increasing numbers of children languishing in state custody available for adoption.  34,275 Texas children are currently in costly state conservatorship care.[8]

Caseworkers with less than one year of experience constitute 40.3% of the workforce according to TDFPS.  Tenured, experienced workers increase the safety of children in investigations and increase permanency for children in post-Investigation services.

If we are not able or willing to reach the caseload range of 12-17 or even 24 cases per worker during the 80th legislative session, we must at least start the phase-in of new workers this session and complete the process during the 81st Legislative Session.

Retention Factors

Higher retention rates result in more tenured workers promotion to Supervision, one of the most important functions of the CPS system.  Experienced supervisors whom can support and manage their workers are a critical top component in the retention of workers.

Caseworkers with bachelor’s degrees in Social Work with experience have over twice the retention rate of those workers holding any bachelor’s degree

 Compensation Issues 

CPS could save money, attract better-educated workers and reward quality casework by increasing employee compensation.  CPS workers are first responders to children in imminent harm.  However, CPS caseworkers earn $6,000-$12,000 less than firefighters and policeman: Professions that don’t require the bachelor’s degree required for CPS workers.

The number one competitive employer to CPS caseworkers is the teaching profession. The CPS workers that leave for teaching are interested in continuing to work with children, but are able to work regular hours with the summers off.

We do not believe Texas teachers, policeman or firefighters are overpaid.  Rather, CPS caseworkers are underpaid.  The actual data on movement from CPS workers to the teaching profession is the most important factor in realizing compensation does make a difference for many caseworkers.

Texas CPS workers rank 48th of 50 states in CPS caseworker average employee compensation

Recommendation 2b:  Increase the pay for all levels of caseworkers and supervisors to parity with Texas median teacher pay or 200% of Federal Poverty Level for family of four, or an average $7,500 more per all caseworkers and supervisors per year. Increase the pay for all professional level staff commensurate with caseworker salary increase. (HB3756, HB1361)

Recommendation 2c.  Reduce caseloads to the National Average caseload for all caseworkers to 24 cases per worker for Investigative and Conservatorship Caseworkers and by 20% for all other workers including Foster Adopt (FAD), Family Preservation (FBSS) and Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) caseworkers by hiring more workers to keep pace with children entering the system through increased investigations, and to reflect the extended privatization roll-out. (HB3756)

Recommendation 2d:  Continue funding the successful “hire-ahead” caseworker program, which fills vacancies as workers resign in order to manage spiraling caseloads. (SB 962 (77R) discontinued in 2006)

Recommendation 3:  Implement best practice placements and visitation for removed abused children-Require judicial training in child abuse issues.

Issue background 3: From birth, normal child development depends on consistent and responsive care giving. When attachment is disrupted or there is a lack of empathy in this close relationship between baby and caregiver, a child’s bonding is damaged even in the baby’s earliest months. (SB 758/HB 2140)

Recommendation 3a: Ensure that when removed, infants and toddlers are placed with pre-assessed adults (kinship or foster) who can be safe and emotionally available to the child with no further disruptions in care giving relationships until reunification or permanent placement. (SB758/HB 2140)

Recommendation 3b:  Make visitation for infants and toddlers a therapeutic part of a plan for reunification or resolution of problems. (SB758/HB 2140)

Recommendation 3c.  For infants and toddlers, include relevant professionals in planning for and evaluating progress toward reunification, with graduated steps to include visits. (SB758/HB 2140)

Recommendation 3d:  Require child abuse, attachment and related training for Family Court Judges that hear child abuse cases, in addition to currently mandated domestic violence training, in order to make informed and responsible placement decisions for the abused child’s well being.  (HB3505/ SB 1411)

Recommendation 4: Create safety provisions in the CPS case management privatization pilot (CSSB758, HB1361)

ISSUE 4: Outsourcing certain functions of many state agencies may be a more efficient and cost-effective way to manage governmental services.   Outsourcing some areas of TDFPS functions also fall into this category:  TDFPS currently outsources purchased services for clients and most all their prevention services.  We agree that CPS should continue to contract with the private Child Placing Agencies (CPA) currently serving children in substitute care.  CPS should embrace many additional provisions the CPA’s would like to provide. 

However, CPS cannot outsource their legal function and responsibility as the Conservator of the child.  While many private providers are responsible and concerned with the best interest of a child, CPS would be abdicating their responsibility if they relied exclusively on a private providers’ word as to the best placement and best interest of the child without CPS having first hand knowledge of the child’s functioning and well being.

The Conservatorship worker must participate in critical functions that involve direct access to the child in order to make an informed recommendation to a judge about life-altering changes to the child.  These functions include recommendations on reunification with the abusive parents, termination of parental rights, movements to different foster homes or approval of an adoptive home, among other functions.  Therefore, we applaud and support the changes made to the definitions of functions of each party in CSSB758.

Recommendation 4a:  Support CSSB 758 new definitions of Case Management for the private CPAs’ provision and the new definition of Conservatorship services for the Department’s role.

We have noted a few more adjustments we believe are critical to these definitions.

Issue background 4b:  The recommended changes to the CSSB758 relate to the new definitions of case management, permanency services (Both the Private CPA’s functions) and Conservatorship Services (The department’s functions). 

1. However we are concerned with the definition of permanency services to include family reunification services outsourced to the private CPA. Family reunification is a subsequent placement decision and as written in the committee substitute, must be approved by the department as the legal Conservator.
2. The private providers have no experience with this most complex and difficult service provision and placement decision.  The decision to remove a child from a home that is so abusive that the child needed to be removed from that home, then to provide services and assist the family to make life changes so that they can transition from abusive parents to safe parents and that child is then placed back in that home, is a very complex and serious decision that requires experience and the legal conservator’s involvement, not just oversight.
3. The committee substitute definition requiring the department to monitor this function does not go far enough.  Substance abusers and sex offenders are notoriously great manipulators. Reunification decisions require intensive due diligence and follow-up to verify parents statements and claims of changed behavior. 

Recommendation 4b: If CPS remains the entity ultimately responsible for all placement decisions and subsequent placements, as noted in the current definition of Conservatorship services, then the definition must include family reunification placement decisions.  Placement decisions require first hand involvement with service provision in order to accurately assess parents’ progress from an abusive home to a safe home prior to reunifying a child that was previously abused by the parents.

Issue 4c: Both the private providers and the department should have clearly stated goals and be measured by their attainment of performance-based standards.  In fact, we support sanctions. 

• We applaud the removal of financial incentives rewarding timeliness of children’s movements to permanency, whether reunification, adoption, or permanent foster care. 
• The appropriate changes to a child’s life should be based on the well being of the child, not a calendar and a bonus.
• Most good CPA’s should be making placements on what is in the child’s best interest. We shouldn’t need to pay people more for doing what they are supposed to be doing. 
• Performance based contracting will only attract lower level CPA’s that prioritize maximizing profits over the provision of services.
• The quality of placements are what needs to be emphasized so that children are not returned into the system one year after being reunified with their family and re-abused because the parents were not ready. 
• As Peter Drucker, the grandfather of organizational management has taught us, “Statistical measures are necessary.  But in managing humans, they are insufficient”. 

Recommendation 4c:  Support CSSB758/CSHB2140 modifications to “performance based contracting”.  Support the rider to SB1 relating to performance based measures for the department.

Recommendation 5 - Retain CPS foster adopt homes to avoid decreasing the foster parent population (CSHB 2140)

Issue Background 5:  There is a severe shortage of Texas foster homes and able kinship providers in the areas where children need placements after removal. TexProtects is concerned that the mandate to outsource all of the 30% substitute care that the department is now providing will cause a closure of foster homes and decrease of adoptions, the majority of which are consummated by the department. 

1. The department does not have a vested interest in providing substitute care services:  Without any  legislative mandate, TDFPS voluntarily contracted with private providers in approximately 70% of the state where they were unable to develop and expand capacity and where to do so was cost-effective.
2. If the department is forced to privatize all foster homes by 2009, we could see a much higher cost than the current projection of $24.5 million in the Senate budget, as the providers will have the negotiating power to name their contract price.  At a minimum, the timeline should be extended to 2011 to avert unnecessarily higher contract costs.
3. As projected, the extra cost of privatizing substitute care is projected at $24.5 million all funds to cover the overhead of the private providers.  This figure is net the decrease in staff and CPS overhead as a result of outsourcing.
4. Private homes are not “better” than State homes:  Importantly, the department reports that abuse occurs in private foster homes 23% more frequently compared to state foster homes.  According to the department’s data, 1% of children in private foster homes were confirmed for abuse and neglect compared to .77% of the state foster homes.  Although small percentage-wise, this represents 166 private and 10 state foster children re-abused or neglected in foster care.
5. Finally, the state foster homes represent approximately two-thirds of all adoptions in the state.  We are sure that it is not the intent of the legislature or the committee to decrease the number of consummated adoptions of abused/neglected Texas children.

Recommendation 5a:  We support CSHB 2140 approach to outsourcing substitute care, including provisions that the department may continue to provide substitute care services in an emergency and where it is most practical, cost-effective and least disruptive to current placements and where to do otherwise would curtail the consummation of adoptions.

Recommendation 5b:  The $24.5 saved from not privatizing substitute care should be shifted to provide a salary increase to frontline caseworkers and supervisors.  While we recommended a minimum salary increase of $7,500-10,000 per worker, we would recommend increasing the compensation more for non-investigative caseworkers as Investigators and Investigative Supervisors receive a $5,000 bonus. Shifting the savings from the $24.5 million from substitute care outsourcing could cover the following:

1,718 Investigative caseworkers and supervisors x $4,750 salary increase = $8,161,450

2,255 Other caseworkers and supervisors x $7,750 salary increase = $17,321.250

Total cost of salary increase:  $25.4 million

A subsequent projected reduction in turnover from the current average of 30% to the state employee current average of 15.5% could reduce the $16.1 million turnover costs in half to $8 million per annum.

Recommendation 6:  Increase number of foster/kinship/grandparent homes and improve foster care safety.

Issue Background 6: In addition to a severe shortage of Texas foster homes, we have a dearth of able kinship providers in the areas where children need placements after removal.  Available and safe kin, including Grandparents of the child, may be most appropriate but financially unable to care for the removed child.  All prospective caregivers must pass basic background checks in order to reduce the re-abuse risk of an abused child.

Recommendation 6a:  Develop a cross-reference data base system between CPS and private agencies to conduct background checks on disqualified foster/adopt families who manipulate the system and “agency hop” until they are licensed. (SB758/HB 2140)

Recommendation 6b:  Carefully and properly screen, train, license, and monitor private foster care homes to ensure the most basic levels of safe care for abused children.

Recommendation 6c:  Mandate thorough background checks on all public and private foster parents and kinship caregivers. TDFPS and private CPA’s must have access to public or commercially available databases to ensure that foster parents background check includes history of arrests, domestic disturbance calls or other issues that may impair the foster parents safe care of the foster child. (HB 2670/SB1941)

Recommendation 6d:  Adopt uniform preparation training, such as PRIDE training, for all potential foster/adoptive parents involved in public or privatized foster care. Clarify standards of care and improve instruction on exact policies, procedures, services, rights, and responsibilities of foster families. Facilitate a closer working relationship between caseworkers and foster parents to develop mutual respect.

Recommendation 6e: Intensify recruitment and retention of “mission-driven” foster parents so that more removed children may stay in their local communities/schools and avoid excessive moves that disrupt healthy cognitive, social, educational, and recreational development.  Focus recruitment on minority/bilingual foster parents. (SB758/HB2140)

Recommendation 6f: Increase reimbursement rates for foster care to increase capacity across the board, but particularly for “special needs” children.

Recommendation 6g: Maintain support for and expand Family Group Conferencing statewide (HB 1361) and grandfather kinship assistance programs to current kin caregivers to assist safe, low-income relatives or other kin to continue care for their relative’s children, reducing the need and expense of foster/adopt care. (SB1381, SB1456)

Recommendation 6h: Pilot the facilitation of adoption of foster children with an adoption subsidy commensurate with foster subsidy. (SB872, similar)

Recommendation 6i:  Support instituting minimum qualifications and standards for conducting social studies in child custody and adoptions. (HB772)

Recommendation 6j: Expand support systems for foster children aging out of state care (HB 3008)

Recommendation 7:  Increase TDFPS accountability in achieving best outcomes for children using performance based standards. (Rider to SB1-Addendum C)

Issue Background 7:  Currently, CPS workers performance measures revolve mostly around “currency” of casework or the timely closure of cases (30 day goal).  Administrators strictly enforce case closure and send warnings to employees that have cases open over 30 days and longer.  However, CPS workers are rarely recognized for quality casework, just speed.  Often, quantitative measures alone may obscure the goal of quality decisions and quality placements over quantity.

Recommendation 7a:   Reduce the focus on CPS quantitative performance measures and add goal-oriented qualitative performance based measures.  Suggested content for performance measures in foster care may include: a. Child well being / Quality of Placement Fit; b. Quality of foster homes; c. Service quality levels (see addendum C for specific performance measure suggestions).

Recommendation 8: Increase funding and access to critical mental health services for abused children

Issue background 8:  Children that are abused and neglected experience a host of consequential aftereffects including cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional problems. Early intervention counseling with children ages 2 and older can mitigate the costly and life-altering aftereffects and subsequently reduce the risks of intergenerational violence.

Recommendation 8a:  Increase funding availability for counseling of child abuse victims.  Increase funds for managed mental health care and supportive counseling for at risk families.

Recommendation 8b:  Make psychiatric services more available to parents and children and address the unique abuse issues faced by children with physical and developmental disabilities.

Success in Other States

The following 14 states reduced caseloads to CWLA, COA or CAPTA standards[9]

Legislation Passed: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Washington

Accreditation attained: Illinois, Kentucky and Oklahoma

Litigation forced compliance: Alabama, Connecticut, Colorado, and Kansas