• CPS hires workers with any Bachelors degree instead of recruiting Social Workers or those workers with backgrounds in related fields such as counseling, psychology or criminal justice.
• CPS Workers receive 6 weeks of job training before they are assigned to cases without first shadowing tenured workers on investigations.
• Many workers feel unprepared for the demands of horrific work conditions when they first enter the field. Well meaning young Social Workers that want to “help children” often are intimidated by the clients they encounter and may lack the experience and confidence for investigation work, especially without mentoring.
• Ongoing training is often too difficult to attend given the time constraints on workers due to job demands and high caseloads.
• Workers express frustration at not having the required knowledge to do their job more effectively and efficiently by keeping up with state-of-the-art breakthroughs in the field.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ISSUE #3: To increase recuitment standards & improve training

• Recruit CPS workers that possess the appropriate educational background, experience, skills and personality and match to the various caseworker positions.
• CPS should study the background, education and personality variables that contribute to the recruitment and retention of the highest quality caseworkers.
• Differing casework skills for investigation versus placement should be noted in determining appropriate educational backgrounds.
• According to the research, workers with a minimum BSW and an internship with CPS prior to full-time employment had an 87% retention rate. CPS should encourage interns to shadow experienced workers in order for them to self-select for employment.
• CPS needs to focus on recruiting bilingual workers to keep up with the booming growth of the Hispanic population.
• Increase Caseworker Knowledge through improved training
• FPS should have an independent group such as retired or former CPS workers and other stakeholders make recommended changes to the training academy curriculum and study national best practice curriculums for the most effective training preparation.
• CPS Workers should meet Continuing Education minimum criteria, yet workers must be offered the time and opportunity to do so through lower caseloads.
• CPS should request funding for caseworkers to attend ongoing state-of-the art training such as the National Crimes against Children Conference, in order to keep abreast of new breakthroughs in the field, which will increase the quality of interventions and boost employee’s effectiveness and efficiency while boosting worker morale.