Commitment of Private and Public Agency Workers to Child Welfare: How Long Do They Plan to Stay?

Abstract

Method: Child welfare professionals completing training to work in foster care were asked about reasons for taking their child welfare position, commitment to their agencies, and commitment to child welfare. Analyses compared responses from new public agency foster care workers (N = 100), public agency workers making lateral transfers to foster care (N = 64), and new private foster care workers (N = 105). Results: Private agency foster care workers were less committed to their agencies and to child welfare and more likely to have taken the position because it was the only one available. Conclusions: The practice by public child welfare of outsourcing foster care services to private agencies needs to be evaluated. This practice may not benefit children in care and may create organizational problems for agencies.

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