NCJ Number
127797
Journal
Child Welfare League of America Volume: 70 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1991) Pages: 35-43
Date Published
1991
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The steps employed by one child protection agency to develop and implement a systematic weighting of cases as a means to distributing its workload more equally, improving staff morale, and reducing staff turnover are described.
Abstract
As a first step, a committee of representatives from each foster care service delivery unit isolated two factors that differentially determine work and time demands in service delivery: (1) location of the child and (2) type and severity of the case. Six location sites were identified as differentially related to time demands: foster care, aftercare, relative placement, home supervision, residential care, and aftercare beyond 30 days. Type and severity of the case were determined by assessment; cases were assigned a descriptive label within each of three abuse/neglect categories, that is, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Severity was determined in accordance with case particulars and actual demands on time and resources. To apply the formula for case weighting, cases on each caseload were assessed first on the type and severity factor, then on location. Workers report improved workloads since implementation of the weighting strategy as well as an improvement in staff morale. 13 references