The impact of worker and agency characteristics on FGC referrals in child welfare

Abstract

Guided by the Decision Making Ecology framework, this study examined data from a large urban child welfare jurisdiction consisting of two neighboring counties to explore reasons behind substantial variation in caseworkers' rates of referrals to Family Group Conferences (FGC), a common practice in child welfare both nationally and internationally. The results indicate that time in current position and perceptions of supervisor competence and leadership support were significantly associated with a worker's propensity to refer to FGC. Specifically, caseworkers with fewer years in their current position and those who reported lower ratings on their supervisor's competence and leadership's support made a higher number of referrals. The results reinforce the notion that even in the presence of policy mandates, such factors should be monitored and addressed by agencies concerned with consistent program implementation. Future studies should seek to replicate these findings in other jurisdictions and test for effective interventions to mitigate the impact of individual worker characteristics on actual implementation of mandated practices.