Universal support, local impact: insights into workplace dynamics in child welfare

Child welfare (CW) has long navigated remote work, but COVID-19 heightened this conversation. We leveraged pre-pandemic data to understand how caseworker outcomes, removed from the stressors of COVID-19, differed for those working remotely, hybrid, and in-person. Minnesota CW workers (N = 770) completed a 2019 workforce survey. We conducted factor analysis to group workers’ experiences, followed by structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate whether outcomes of location satisfaction and intent to stay varied by workplace location. Factor analysis revealed latent variables of supervisory support, agency support, negative job experiences, and self-efficacy. The best fitting SEM model was fully constrained, where outcomes did not differ by location. Agency support positively predicted location satisfaction, job satisfaction positively predicted intent to stay, and supervisory support negatively predicted intent to stay. The dynamic nature of CW may make workplace location less relevant. Agency support may be foundational for positive experiences regardless of location, while job satisfaction is important for retention. Supervisory support may be reactive when workers have negative experiences. Addressing universal factors like agency and supervisory support in light of negative experiences may be most important for improved CW outcomes, regardless of workplace location.