What Works for the Workforce: Leadership Competencies in Action

Child Welfare Staff Engagement & Retention in Washington DC: Alternative Work Schedules, Telecommuting & Other Supports

Webinar held August 14, 2013

Child Welfare Staff Engagement & Retention in Washington DC: Alternative Work Schedules, Telecommuting & Other Supports, was the ninth session in What Works for the Workforce: Leadership Competencies in Action – A National Webinar Series on Leading Change to Strengthen the Child Welfare Workforce.

This session shares how the Office of Youth Empowerment, in strong partnership with the Department of Human Resources, has sustained the highest retention rate at the DC Child & Family Services Agency (CFSA) for the last four years by offering frontline staff (1) alternative work schedules [either 4 day workweeks or 1 day off every 2 weeks], (2) telecommuting [work from home up to 2 days per week], and (3) other supports to augment the success of these strategies [such as improved technology, teambuilding activities, and opportunities for career growth]. Participants learn about the essential elements of the CFSA’s employee engagement and retention strategies, including their development, implementation, and outcomes, as well as lessons learned and tips for other agencies seeking to better support, engage and retain their own child welfare staff.

Presenters include:

  • Sarah Thankachan, LICSW, Administrator, Office of Youth Empowerment, DC Child & Family Services Agency. Ms. Thankachan has led the Youth Empowerment team for the past five years, and has close to 11 years of child welfare experience in the District of Columbia, with a primary focus on serving older youth in foster care.  She leads a team of 48 employees including case management staff who work directly with older youth in foster care.  She is also a 2011 alumni of the NCWWI Leadership Academy for Middle Managers.
  • Dexter Starkes, Director, Human Resources, DC Child & Family Services Agency. Mr. Starkes has been with the CFSA for nearly five years, serving in the capacity of Employee & Labor Relations Manager before becoming HR Director. Mr. Starkes has 14 years of HR experience and more than 20 years of management experience that he relies upon in managing through both routine and complex HR issues. He has been responsible for implementing employee engagement and retention strategies to support CFSA retention efforts.

 

1-page Summary

 

Recordings

 

 Handouts

Webinar Sessions:

  1. Evaluation Findings, Strategies and Lessons Learned
  2. NCWWI Impact & Lessons Learned (2008-2013)
  3. Child Welfare Means Change Management: Stories & Lessons Learned from LAMM Alumni
  4. Leadership Academy for Supervisors: What We Learned & How We Changed

Webinar Sessions:

  1. ChildStat: Leading systems-level improvements based on case-level experiences
  2. Competency-Based Recruitment, Screening & Selection: Strengthening Workforce Capacity, Retention & Organizational Resiliency
  3. Improving Supervision by Collaboration, Transparency & Accountability: The Impact of Missouri’s Supervision Advisory Committee
  4. The New Jersey Fellows Program: Strengthening Workforce Capacity, Leadership and Case Outcomes through Improved Data Management & Accountability
  5. Coaching to Support Solution-Based Casework in Child Welfare
  6. Design Teams & Learning Circles: Agency- & Unit-level Interventions for Improving Organizational Climate & Culture
  7. Casework Teaming to Reduce Workload, Enhance Effectiveness & Boost Morale
  8. Learning & Living the NCWWI Leadership Model
  9. Evidence-based Practices in Child Welfare: Opportunities & Challenges for the Workforce
  10. Building a Culturally Responsive Workforce: The Texas Model for Undoing Disproportionality & Disparities in Child Welfare
  11. Child Welfare Staff Engagement & Retention in Washington DC: Alternative Work Schedules, Telecommuting & Other Supports
  12. Beyond Child Welfare Education & Training: Pennsylvania’s Dynamic University-Agency Partnership for Transfer of Learning, Quality Improvement & Organizational Effectiveness