School Updates
The Child Welfare Education and Research Programs (CWERP) had a productive year filled with education, training, and innovation. A total of 61 fully funded child welfare undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled at Pitt in the 2024-25 academic year. Over the 30-year lifetime of these nationally recognized professional education programs, 675 child welfare students have graduated from Pitt. Statewide, a total of 3,228 students have completed degree studies through the social work education programs administered by CWERP. The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center continued to offer a free, online three-hour course, Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse. More than 394,000 participants completed the course during the year. Feedback continues to be overwhelmingly positive, with almost 90% reporting they feel more confident in their skills and that they will be able to use what they learned in the course.
The Resource Center continued its long-standing commitment to improve the retention of Pennsylvania’s child welfare professionals. Conducting the Pennsylvania Annual Workforce Survey (PAWS) with child welfare professionals across the state has provided insight into factors impacting the retention of a strong and stable workforce. The PAWS is based on the Comprehensive Organizational Health Assessment developed by the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver and is designed to measure organizational functioning by asking questions about topics such as organizational culture and climate, leadership, supervision, physical work environment, job safety, stress, and job satisfaction.
In 2024, a total of 1,290 staff from 32 county child welfare agencies participated in the PAWS. With 2,171 staff receiving surveys, this resulted in a 59% response rate.
Survey responses from all participating counties were analyzed to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Strengths included positive organizational climate, supportive supervisors and staff who are practicing self-care strategies and activities. Areas for improvement centered around the impact of stress on staff. This includes job stress, work-related burnout and secondary traumatic stress experienced when carrying out job responsibilities. Significantly, 58% of respondents indicated they had looked for another job within the previous year. Staff also shared the primary reasons they have chosen to remain in child welfare work are to make a difference, partner with their coworkers, receive the benefits provided and balance personal time with work scheduling. These findings are being used to prioritize resources and develop solutions to common areas of need identified by members of the child welfare workforce.
Additionally, in August, CWERP hosted the annual Older Youth Retreat is a week-long experience for youth, between the ages of 16-20, who are currently in, or were formerly in, foster care. The Older Youth Retreat is held at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown campus (UPJ) and planned by a steering committee comprised of both youth and staff from across the state, who dedicate their time and effort to select activities, events, and keynote speakers to ensure that a good time is had by all. Youth will be encouraged to participate in planned activities, which will allow them to learn new things and meet new people. The retreat is a fun, enlightening, and very busy week! A diverse group of 89 youth, representing 28 counties across Pennsylvania, participated in the event. The theme for the week was, "Reach for the S.T.A.R.S. (Self Control, Trustworthiness, Accountability, Respect and Success).