Evaluation of the Improving Child Welfare Outcome through Systems of Care Grant Program - Child Welfare Agency Survey

OMB 0970-0288

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to be 1 hour to complete this questionnaire. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The control number for this project is 0970-0288. The control number expires on X/X/XXXX.

National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center

Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care Program

Child Welfare Agency Survey

1. To what extent do you agree that your agency:

	Not At All	To A Slight Extent	To A Moderate Extent	To A Great Extent	To A Very Great Extent
Encourages staff to tailor services to children’s and families’ unique needs	1	2	3	4	5
Provides the resources and infrastructure necessary for staff to provide individualized care to families	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who provide individualized care to the children and families they serve	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to identify and build upon families’ strengths	1	2	3	4	5
Provides the resources and infrastructure necessary for staff to provide strengths-based care to families	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who provide care to families that builds upon their strengths	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages supervisors to use a strength-based approach with staff	1	2	3	4	5
Provides the resources and infrastructure necessary for supervisors to work with staff in a strengths-based manner	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff they supervise who use a strengths-based approach	1	2	3	4	5
Accommodates staff’s religious observances or other cultural needs or preferences	1	2	3	4	5
Actively recruits and retains staff reflective of the racial and ethnic backgrounds of the community served	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to respect the cultural backgrounds of co-workers	1	2	3	4	5
Provides the resources and infrastructure necessary for staff to work with colleagues with diverse cultural backgrounds	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who are respectful of their co-workers’ cultural backgrounds	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to respond to the cultural needs and values of every family they work with	1	2	3	4	5
Provides the resources and infrastructure necessary for staff to work with children and families from diverse cultures	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who assess and address families’ cultural and ethnic needs and preferences	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to identify placements or services within children’s and families’ communities	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to identify informal and formal services available in children’s communities	1	2	3	4	5
Informs staff of the array of services and supports (formal and informal) available in the community	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who identify informal and formal services in children’s communities	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who keep children within their communities	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who connect children and families with community-based services	1	2	3	4	5
Regularly includes family members as co-facilitators or co-trainers in staff trainings and/or meetings	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to treat families as partners (including actively engaging them in case planning)	1	2	3	4	5
Provides the resources and infrastructure necessary for staff to actively engage families in case planning	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who work in partnership with families	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to work with other child and family-serving organizations (in case planning and other activities)	1	2	3	4	5
Provides the resources and infrastructure necessary for staff to work with other child and family-serving agencies and organizations	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who collaborate with other relevant child and family-serving organizations	1	2	3	4	5
Encourages staff to update electronic or paper records on all their cases in a timely manner	1	2	3	4	5
Adequately trains staff to understand data reports generated from electronic systems or case records	1	2	3	4	5
Trains supervisors to use data to monitor the progress of their supervisory teams and their staff	1	2	3	4	5
Provides staff the time and resources needed to keep their case records up to date	1	2	3	4	5
Rewards staff who keep updated and complete records for their cases	1	2	3	4	5

2. Please respond to the following statements and questions:

	Not At All	To A Slight Extent	To A Moderate Extent	To A Great Extent	To A Very Great Extent
How often do your co-workers show signs of stress?	1	2	3	4	5
How often do you end up doing things that should be done differently?	1	2	3	4	5
How often do you have to work irregular hours?	1	2	3	4	5
How often do you have to bend a rule in order to carry out an assignment?	1	2	3	4	5
How often do you feel unable to satisfy the conflicting demands of your supervisors?	1	2	3	4	5
How often does your job interfere with your family life?	1	2	3	4	5
I understand how my performance will be evaluated.	1	2	3	4	5
No matter how much I do, there is always more to be done.	1	2	3	4	5
Interests of the clients are often replaced by bureaucratic concerns (e.g., paperwork).	1	2	3	4	5
The amount of work I have to do keeps me from doing a good job.	1	2	3	4	5
Rules and regulations often get in the way of getting things done.	1	2	3	4	5
My job responsibilities are clearly defined.	1	2	3	4	5
I have to work a lot of overtime.	1	2	3	4	5
The amount of work I have interferes with how well it gets done.	1	2	3	4	5
I know what the people in my agency expect of me.	1	2	3	4	5
I have to do things on my job that are against my better judgment.	1	2	3	4	5
There are not enough people in my agency to get the work done.	1	2	3	4	5
Inconsistencies exist among the rules and regulations that I am required to follow.	1	2	3	4	5
Once I start an assignment, I am not given enough time to complete it	1	2	3	4	5
How well are you kept informed about things that you need to know?	1	2	3	4	5
To what extent are you constantly under heavy pressure on your job?	1	2	3	4	5
To what extent are the objectives and goals of your position clearly defined?	1	2	3	4	5
To what extent is it possible to get accurate information on policies and administrative procedures?	1	2	3	4	5
Given my present feeling about my job, it is very likely that I will leave this position in the next 12 months.	1	2	3	4	5

3. Please answer the following questions:

	Very Unsatisfied	Unsatisfied	Slightly Unsatisfied	Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied	Slightly Satisfied	Satisfied	Very Satisfied
All in all, how satisfied would you say you are with your job?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with working with your clients?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the amount of authority you have been given to do your job?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the challenge that your job provides?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the quality of supervision you receive?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the chances you have for acquiring new skills?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the amount of client contact you have?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the opportunities you have for really helping people?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the clarity of guidelines for doing your job?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the opportunity you have for involvement in decision making?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the recognition given your work by your supervisor?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with your feeling of success as a professional?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
How satisfied are you with the field of specialization you are in?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

CASEWORKER SUPPLEMENT

4. The following statements refer to your own approach to working with children and families. Please indicate the what extent to which you agree with the following statements:

C

heck here if you DO NOT develop case plans, link children and families to services, and meet with children and families to monitor progress. If checked, skip to the top of page 10, question 5.

	Very Strongly Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree	Very Strongly Agree
I assess children’s and families’ individual needs and look for ways to address these specific needs.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I pay attention to families’ past successes and consider them in case planning.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I focus on the families’ potential for the future.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that all families have strengths that can be built upon.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I assess the cultural needs and preferences of the children and families I serve.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I address and accommodate families’ cultural and religious needs and preferences.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that there is strength in the diversity of our community.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that it is necessary to understand the cultural background of children and families in order to best serve them.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that a child’s safety is primarily the responsibility of his or her parents.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that families are usually the best experts about their own lives.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I think it is important to consider parents’ desired outcomes and goals, in addition to agency goals, in case planning.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I only hold case planning meetings without the family’s involvement when it is absolutely necessary.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that generating solutions jointly with parents and children makes success more likely.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I work with families to find informal resources that may help them.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe it is important for children to remain connected to their communities.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I provide services to children and families that are located within their own communities to the best of my ability.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that, in most circumstances, children and families fare best when they remain in their own communities.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
When children must be removed from home, I place them within their own communities whenever possible.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe it is more important to help children and families than to determine which agency has responsibility for them.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I identify other organizations working with families and include them in case planning.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I believe that collaborating and coordinating with other organizations helps me provide quality services.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
I work closely with other organizations and agencies	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

You are almost done! Before you finish, please complete the following questions:

5. What agency do you work for?

_______________________________________________________

(Name of Your Agency)

5. Where is this agency located?

__­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________

(City, State or Name of Tribe)

5. Have you heard of the local Systems of Care initiative?

Yes No

5. Which best describes your role in your agency? (circle one)

1. Caseworker Assistant

2. Caseworker

3. Supervisor (I may work directly with families, but my primary role is to supervise other staff)

4. Senior manager (I am involved in policy planning, development, or evaluation)

5. Administrator (I run the organization)

6. Other (please specify): ____________________________________

9. Which unit do you work in? (circle ALL that apply)

1. Intake

2. Investigations

3. Assessment

4. Case Management

5. Family Preservation

6. Foster Care (including kinship care)

7. Subsidized guardianship, reunification

8. Adoptions

9. Independent living/Aging Out/Emancipated Minors

10. Other (please specify): ________________________________

10. Are you responsible for monitoring or providing oversight to a private agency that develops case plans, links children and families to services, and meets with families to monitor progress? For example, do you conduct case planning meetings for cases under your purview, as opposed to overseeing a private contractor or service provider that does this work?

Yes No

10. Are you employed by a private contractor?

Yes No

10. Do you currently work full-time or part-time?

Full-time Part-time _________ (indicate number of hours)

10. Over the past year, on average, how many children’s cases are currently on your caseload (1 case = 1 child)?

____________________ If none, enter 0 and skip items 14 and 15

10. Approximately what percent of your time do you spend working directly with clients?

_______________________%

10. Approximately what percent of time do you spend on paperwork?

_______________________%

10. How many years have you worked in this agency?

______________________________________________

(Years with this Agency)

10. How many years of experience, including your present job, have you had in full-time human services work?

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

______________________________________________

(Years of Human Services Experience)

10. What level of education have you completed? (circle one):

11. High school graduate

12. Associates/technical degree

13. Some college

14. Bachelor’s degree

15. Some graduate work

16. Masters degree

17. Doctoral degree

10. What field is your highest degree in? (circle ALL that apply)

18. Education

19. Medicine/Nursing

20. Psychology

21. Social Work

22. Sociology

23. Child Development

24. Counseling

25. Other (please specify) ____________________________

10. Are you male or female? (circle one)

Male Female

10. How old are you?

__________________________________

(Your Age in Years)

10. Are you Hispanic/Spanish/Latino? (circle all that apply)

26. No, not Hispanic/Spanish/Latino

27. Yes, Hispanic/Spanish/Latino

10. Select one or more of the following categories to best describe your race:

28. White

29. Black or African American

30. Asian

31. American Indian or Alaska Native

32. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

24. How many times have you taken this survey?

A. This is my first time

1. Two times

2. Three times

3. Not Sure/Don’t Know

Thank you for completing this survey!

We welcome your comments and feedback:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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