title: Child Welfare Caseworker Education and Caregiver Behavioral Service Use and Satisfaction with the Caseworker.
abstract: Social work has long been identified with child welfare, and research has generally found that child welfare caseworkers with a social work degree are better prepared than aseworkers with other degrees. Little knowledge exists though about the relationship between caseworker professional background and caregiver behavioral health service use or their satisfaction with the caseworker. Using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, we found no significant relationships between having a social work degree and caregiver use of services or satisfaction with the caseworker. More research is needed to clarify how caseworker characteristics, including professional preparation, influence child welfare outcomes.
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Marlys
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Staudt
authors.affiliation: Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Mónica Pérez
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Jolles
authors.affiliation: Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Emmeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wells
keywords: behavioral health service utilization; child welfare workers; client-worker relationship; workforce issues