This memorandum summarizes the workforce issues within the child welfare system as heard by the Special Committee on Foster Care Oversight (Special Committee) during the 2020 Interim and recent Kansas legislation enacted to address the issues.
Child Welfare Professionals
The American Academy of Pediatrics defines child welfare professionals as foster parents and kin caregivers, pediatricians, other physicians in medical specialties, child advocates, psychologists, and therapists. In Kansas, this definition can be expanded to Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) employees who conduct child protective service investigations, staff who support grantee organizations, staff members of the Kansas Protection Report Center, and case management and prevention services staff through grantees.
Child welfare professionals vary in their education level, employment, role within the system, and location. However, each professional is impacted by legislative requirements and DCF policies.
Barriers to the Workforce
In 2020, stakeholders reported various barriers that contribute to the current state of the workforce within Kansas’ child welfare system. Some of the common reasons stated for the high turnover rate of child welfare professionals are burnout, unmet needs, and lack of support.
A National Association of Social Workers (NASW) report on child welfare described challenges to recruitment and retention of child welfare professionals, including low salaries, high caseloads, administrative burdens, risk of violence, and inadequate supervision. Although salaries tend to increase with experience, many professionals do not stay in the child welfare system for an extended amount of time.
Many child welfare professionals spend more time on paperwork than with their clients; however, they do recognize that some paperwork is necessary. The number of cases per worker can range from 10 to 100 across the country; best practice recommends no more than 15 cases per caseworker. Additionally, child welfare supervisors often have their own caseload or manage a significant number of employees, which may leave employees without the support or guidance some professionals need.
Considerations
The Child Welfare League of America introduced the National Blueprint for Excellence in Child Welfare, which addresses workforce needs. Some of these needs include orientation and training programs, continuing education, annual performance evaluation, and reasonable workloads. Additionally, the Blueprint indicates employers should encourage self-care and provide wellness opportunities and stress management strategies.
During a presentation before the Special Committee in 2020, a representative of the Kansas chapter of the NASW suggested the State consider increasing recruitment and retention of child welfare professionals by offering financial incentives such as student loan forgiveness, tuition reimbursement, and free continuing education units. It was also recommended an annual survey be conducted to determine which incentives are utilized. The representative further recommended the State consider career readiness at the middle and high school level to introduce students to the profession, career paths within the system that provide opportunities for advancement, and field placement experiences to assist the tenure of the Kansas child welfare workforce. To assist with the unmet needs regionally, the representative recommended expansion of the Rural Opportunity Zone Student Loan Repayment Program to additional communities where there is a greater need of support. Other suggestions included ensuring professionals have a work-life balance, maintain the recommended caseload size of no more than 15 cases, and have access to supervisors and self-care in order to combat burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress.
Legislative Changes
Beginning in 2019, Kansas enacted the following bills striving to positively impact the child welfare workforce.
In 2019, House Sub. for SB 25 (the appropriations bill) created 16 additional full-time equivalent (FTE) child welfare staff positions. DCF reported that these positions lowered caseloads for frontline child protective services staff and increased the efficiency of service delivery. Additionally, DCF made policy changes to decrease the supervisor-to-caseworker ratio across the state to be more in line with the Council on Accreditation best practices.
Also in 2019, SB 15 provided for licensure by reciprocity for social workers at baccalaureate, master’s, and specialist clinical levels and amended the requirements for licensure by reciprocity for other professions regulated by the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board (BSRB). Applicants who are deficient in the qualifications or in the quality of educational experience required for licensure are allowed to obtain provisional licenses to allow the applicants time to fulfill remedial or other requirements prescribed by the BSRB. For several professions, the bill amended provisions related to temporary licenses for applicants who have met all licensure requirements except for taking the required licensing examination. The bill also amended the licensure requirements for a specialist clinical social worker to reduce the number of hours of postgraduate supervised professional experience required.
In 2020, SB 66 (the appropriations bill) added $710,838 State General Fund (SGF) and 10.0 FTE positions for additional Protection and Prevention Services program staff for FY 2021 at DCF. The bill also added $7.5 million, including $3.8 million SGF, and 8.0 FTE positions for Family First Prevention Services Act services at the agency.
In 2021, Senate Sub. for HB 2208 was enacted. Among other things, this bill reduced the barriers to becoming a social worker by amending the licensure requirements to reduce the number of clinical hours required to become a licensed specialist clinical social worker.
In 2023, enacted Sub. for SB 131, among other things, changed licensure requirements for multiple professionals regulated by the BSRB, including reducing the number of months of practice prior to being eligible for reciprocity of license from 48 of the past 54 months to 12 months for a social worker; increased the months of validity to 24 months for a temporary license for both bachelor’s and master’s social workers; and added a definition for “extenuating circumstances” which may permit a current licensee an additional 3 months to complete continuing education requirements. The bill also reduced the number of continuing education hours after July 1, 2025, for certain licensees who diagnose and treat mental disorders.. The bill also permitted both the temporary reinstatement of an expired license and the issuance of temporary license for social work candidates for 24 months if they have completed their education at an education program undergoing accreditation. Additionally, the bill created a new community-based temporary license for multiple professionals including social workers who are employed by community mental health centers, federally qualified health centers, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and private treatment facilities. The community-based temporary license is valid for 24 months, may not be renewed, and requires supervision by a BSRB-regulated professional who practices at an independent level.
by Amanda Prosser
Fiscal Analyst
785-296-7879