Education Requirements for CPS Caseworkers HB 141 (M. Gonzales) & SB 255 (Rodriguez)
HB 141 & SB 255 would require that all newly hired caseworkers possess a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree in social work or another field related to human services.
Background Information:
In January of 2016 the Department of Family and Protective Services lowered the education requirements for caseworkers from a 4-year degree to either a: “Bachelor's degree OR an Associate's degree plus two (2) years of relevant work experience OR 60 college credit hours plus two (2) years relevant work experience OR 90 college credit hours plus one (1) year of relevant work experience.”
There are now greater standards in place for caseworkers in the community care model (privatization), Child Placing Agency (CPA) workers and for Residential Child Care Licensing (RCCL) Inspectors and Investigators than there are for CPS caseworkers. Both positions require a bachelor’s degree as a minimum. For CPA workers, the Department emphasizes master’s degrees as more desirable in recruitment.
Additionally, to advance beyond the level of a caseworker at CPS, an employee must hold a 4-year degree. This means that any caseworkers with less than a bachelor’s degree are ineligible for advancement to a supervisor or specialist position.
Each of these three areas (CPS caseworkers, CPA caseworkers and RCCL Inspector & Investigator) have similarities in their job functions, but the CPS workers, whether they are in Investigations, Conservatorship, Adoptions or Family Based Services serve as the primary worker for a child in care. There should be uniformity among these roles, with identical qualifications requiring a 4-year degree as the minimum amount of education required.
The Department was unable to show the policy rationale behind the lowering of the education requirements, and research shows that children in the child welfare system who have caseworkers with a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree of Social Work have better outcomes, including shorter time in out-of-home care, increased adoptions, and a lower likelihood of being removed from their homes.
Additionally, the decision to lower the education requirements does not consider the opinions of former employees or child welfare experts who opposed the change in the education requirements for caseworkers. DFPS’s actions also do not reflect the feedback from the 2016 Biennial Survey of Employee Engagement, which links employee retention to working environment and compensation. DFPS cites the low turnover rate among non- 4-year degree employees as a positive step, but there are no studies being done on the outcomes of these workers (review of performance evaluations, reunification rates, resource referrals, outcomes for children, etc.) nor does the Dept., have plans to conduct a study.
Throughout the United States 41 states require a minimum of a four-year degree in social work, sociology or a human service related field or work experience in social services, with a few states requiring a master’s degree.
Only three other states besides Texas require less than a 4-year degree, and two of those states have specific restrictions that are more stringent than Texas, and the third does not hire anyone with less than a 4 year degree through best practices.
LEGISLATIVE INTENT—In order to enable the state to provide a systematic approach to staff development and training for persons providing child welfare services which will meet the needs of such staff in their discharge of duties, the Department of Family and Protective Services should work in collaboration with the child welfare stakeholder community to ensure that staff have the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to competently provide child welfare services. Each person providing child welfare services in this state should possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the field of social work or human services as a minimum requirement for employment.
The CPS Professional Development (CPD) training should be developed with an assumption that all new hires possess a 4-year degree in social work or human services. This would lead to less focus in CPD on background information related to the human services system and would provide for an enhanced training covering such key topics as: behavioral health issues, child development and attachment, strengths-based interrogation techniques, and other skills related to child welfare service delivery. By not having train new caseworkers without human services background on material related to child welfare, employees would move through training faster and be better equipped to handle the requirements of the job.
The Department of Family and Protective Services should continue to actively recruit applicants with a master's degree from an accredited college or university in social work or other human services field; and nine credit hours in graduate level courses that focus on family and individual function and interaction. The Department should develop recruiting guidelines and strategies to seek out applicants with a master's degree from an accredited college or university or a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in social work or other human services field. Consideration should also be given to increasing the IV-E program in Texas by supplementing federal dollars with general revenue resources, in order to increase the number of social workers at the Department.