About This Priority
Between rising costs and salaries, many employers in Texas and nationwide have struggled to recruit and retain their workforce. This is especially true in child welfare, where it is critical to have highly trained and qualified professionals supporting at-risk Texans. These are not easy jobs, and require experience, passion, and dedication. In addition, when an organization is unable to support a certain number of staff, that can impact their ratios and the number of children or youth they can serve – which ultimately impacts capacity.
INVEST
Invest broadly in foster care rate increases to support the child-serving workforce.
BUILD
Build a culture of excellence and accountability through investment in training, credentialing, and technical assistance at the Texas Center of Child and Family Services.
SUPPORT
Support the recruitment and retention of clinical, mental health and other licensed professionals.
CONSIDER
Consider policies needed to address significant challenges in obtaining liability insurance, increasing costs, and risk mitigation.
Stories
Denise Sikes, Chief People Officer at Roy Maas“Really, it’s more about keeping safe kids and safe staff. When you have staff working extremely long hours it’s not good for them. It’s not good for the kids and it’s not good for the staff."
