[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 74 (Thursday, April 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2362-S2363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KAINE (for himself and Ms. Baldwin):
  S. 1496. A bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to fund demonstration projects to improve recruitment and retention of 
child welfare workers; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President. As we work to support American families, 
stimulate the economy, bolster small

[[Page S2363]]

businesses, protect health care workers, and sustain our industries, 
investing in child welfare is imperative to supporting these efforts. 
The coronavirus pandemic has further highlighted that the development 
of a robust, well-trained, and stable child welfare workforce is 
central to improving outcomes for children and families across the 
United States. The existence of such a workforce is essential to a 
child welfare agency's ability to carry out the responsibilities with 
which they have been entrusted. Child welfare work has been shown to be 
physically and emotionally challenging, as demonstrated by recent 
studies into the impact of secondary traumatic stress (STS) on child 
welfare professionals. The multitude of challenges inherent in child 
welfare work, combined with relatively low compensation and work 
benefits, make these careers difficult to sustain, resulting in high 
rates of turnover and professionals who are more susceptible to burnout 
and compassion fatigue.
  For the past 15 years, child welfare turnover rates have been 
estimated between 20 percent and 40 percent. In 2017, Virginia reported 
a turnover rate of 30%, while Washington State reported a turnover rate 
of 20% and Georgia reported a turnover rate of 32%. These high rates of 
turnover detract from the quality of services delivered to children and 
families and result in an estimated cost of $54,000 per worker leaving 
an agency.
  More needs to be done to ensure that individuals pursuing careers in 
child welfare receive appropriate training and support to improve the 
sustainability of their important, yet demanding work. Maintaining a 
high-performing, engaged, and committed workforce is vital to providing 
families with the quality supports they need to stabilize, reunify, and 
thrive. Research suggests that positive child welfare outcomes depend 
largely on the capacity and competence of the child welfare workforce.
  This is why I am pleased to introduce today the Child Welfare 
Workforce Support Act with my colleague Senator Baldwin. This bill 
directs the Secretary to conduct a five-year demonstration program for 
child welfare service providers to implement targeted interventions to 
recruit, select, and retain child welfare workers. This demonstration 
program will focus on building an evidence base of best practices for 
reducing barriers to the recruitment, development, and retention of 
individuals providing direct services to children and families. Funds 
will also be used to provide ongoing professional development to assist 
child welfare workers in meeting the diverse needs of families with 
infants and children with the goal of improving both the quality of 
services provided and the sustainability of such careers. Investing 
resources in determining what practices have the greatest impact on the 
successful recruitment and retention of child welfare workers will 
assist in developing an evidence-base for future federal investment in 
this space.
  I hope that as the Senate considers reauthorizing the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act that we consider the Child Welfare 
Workforce Support Act and recognize the vital role that child welfare 
workers play to improve outcomes and protect our most vulnerable 
infants and children.
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