Critical Analysis Paper
Mindy Rudell
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Rittschof, K. R., & Fortunato, V. J. (2016). The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Job Burnout on Child Protective Services Case Managers ' Commitment and Intent to Quit. Journal Of Social Service Research, 42(3), 372-385. doi 10.1080/01488376.2015.1101047
Introduction
According to Rittschof and Fortunato (2016), there has been little research conducted about the correlation between child protective service worker burnout rates and supportive supervisors and leadership personnel. The objective of this quantitative scholarly article is to inform the reader of the high turnover and burnout rate among child protective service workers. This article also includes information about the areas of growth that need to be improved upon in this department of social services. According to Rittschof and Fortunato (2016), leadership, management, and supervision are huge factors in the success and retention rate of child protective service workers. This article specifically pinpoints, through data analysis, the correlation between effective and positive transformational leadership and its impact on child protective service worker performance (Rittschof and Fortuno, 2016).
Summary
Purpose/Intention 1,090 child protective service case managers were invited to participate in the study of organizational commitment, job burnout, and intent to quit based on transformational leadership
Achieving a school district’s mission and vision requires the commitment of its stakeholders. In order to involve them in the process, it is necessary for educational leaders to “motivate staff, parents, students, board and community members” (Educational Leadership Constituencies Council, 2002, p. 4). The transformational leadership theory emphasizes the importance of educational leaders acting as role-models in order to motivate and inspire the school community. This approach has the potential to involve all stakeholders, leading to increased student success (Bush, 2007). The Assistant Director of Special Education in Northwest ISD directly supervised the school district’s assessment staff. Her education, experience, and passion set an example for her subordinates, stimulating them to achieve more, leading to her promotion to Executive Director of Student Services.
I chose to interview Regina Geis, who holds the administrative role as acting supervisor for the County Mental Health adult day program, which provides services for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Ms. Geis has held this position for 15 months. This is her first managerial position within a human service agency. Her style of management has changed over this short period of time. She feels that she is now more direct with her direction with staff. She stated, “Maybe now I come across as a little bit cold. But I have learned that I now have to use the least amount of words to get my point across.”
Turning Points for Children (TPFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social service agency that services children and families throughout the city of Philadelphia. Through providing a variety of services and programs, they envision a thriving community for all (www.turningpointsforchildren.org, 2016). Their mission is to support families in raising safe, healthy, educated and strong children by partnering with caregivers to develop and strengthen protective qualities and by offering them the tools, skills and resources they need to ensure their children’s optimal development (www.turningpointsforchildren.org, 2016). This Organizational Capacity Assessment will focus on the Community Umbrella Agency 3 (CUA 3), one of the largest programs that the agency offers. I currently am employed as a Visitation Coach at this CUA. My analysis will detail how the services of the CUA are part of the overall vision and mission of Turning Points for Children.
Finally, the unfortunate facts for case workers is they get burned out, they are overwhelmed and overworked and as a result we see a high turnover rate (Davenport, 2015). Whether the reasoning behind the increase is a result of positive reasons or negative its significant jump is a sign of an issue. There are simply to many children within the system needing families, therapy, and a stable environment before harm is done.
1. As a social work student leadership means a great deal. Social workers take lead when we step up and speak for those who are unable. We do as much as we can for those who need help. Even if that means we have to work harder and harder each year to keep up with current event, research, interventions, theories, etc. Part of being a leader in social work includes staying current so we know what has been proven to better assist us in helping our clients. There also has to be a want to learn. Wanting to learn this new information is part of being a leader as well. There has to has to be a want and need to learn new information. From the lecture titled “Final thoughts on leadership” curiosity is a factor to leadership. Curiosity where you are learning and have a sense of wonder and learning from adversity. As a future practitioner leadership is a role I both look up to and know I will have to achieve. I don’t think that leadership is an easy role, but more of a wanted role. You have to act and want to be a leader. Leadership is an immense duty to your clients, staff and yourself. You need to have passion and truthfulness as well as a willingness to work with others. I also think that as part of being a leader you need to be able to step in and help if a situation gets out of hand. You need to be able to deescalate a problem while remaining professional.
Licensed Masters of Social Worker, Kimberley Fleischer, serves as a field supervisor for students obtaining a masters degree in the field of social work. She first attended Iowa State University and obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology. Later, she received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Kansas. She has worked in the field of social work for eleven years and has been with Richland County School District for nine years. Mrs. Fleischer currently serves two elementary schools, Lonnie B. Nelson and Pontiac for the 2016-2017 school year. She has been with Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary for three years and is currently serving her eighth year as a field supervisor. In order to identify her values, practice, leadership and supervision style, I interviewed Mrs. Fleischer 's to better understand her role professionally and personally as a school social worker. The interview was conducted through an open-ended response questionnaire. These responses were used along with information received during supervisory sessions. The combination of two, provided meaningful insight to the significance of an organization 's purpose, structure and effectiveness as well how individual social workers impact their occupational placements.
City Youth Ministries is a family, even though they have social responsibility and a code of ethics. As soon as you watch the way Director Denise Snider interacts with the children, it is evident that this is an “organization family” treated like a “nuclear family.” (DeSensi & Rosenberg, 2010) I have also learned the value in the way we communicate with others. This opportunity showed me that a successful organization, or team, begins with enthusiastic leadership. The book presents motivation “as the basis of the function of leading” (DeSensi & Rosenberg, 2010). One day, I might find myself leading a group, and I aspire to act like Mrs. Snider. The acquisition or loss of social roles affects the psychological effects of both men and women (Wilson & Musick, 2000). Adding this “social role”, gave me a place where I felt appreciated. There was always something that needed to be done, and someone that needed to be loved. Whenever I finished an afternoon of volunteering, I was not tired or drained. On the contrary, I left with a sense of contentment and thankfulness. The children, faculty, and staff cared for each other in more than a typical organization, and I was lucky enough to be a part of
The three articles used for this comparison matrix looked at transformational leadership and how it affects those in relation to each study. The three articles were all written with a different purpose in mind, with all three correlating to the same hypothesis, “How does transformational leadership affect employees/individuals in different settings?” With similarities found in topic, it was also evident that there were several contrasting variables within each article. The three empirical articles that were utilized for this comparison were as follows: Transformational Leadership in
As for child welfare workers, they tend to be more associated with the field of criminal justice and law enforcement than social workers. Child welfare caseworkers have become responsible for implementing the policies and laws created to provide children with protection and permanent housing residence (Zell, 85). Child welfare workers usually hold and finalize decisions that may determine life or death on a daily basis, creating some form of difference in the lives of at-risk families and children (Brittain and Potter, 3). Many individuals view the child welfare workforce as a constant state of crisis and elevated stress. However, numerous workers succeed in this career path (Brittain and Potter, 3). Being exposed to difficult situations repeatedly,
Maurice William’s understands that social workers get tired because of their relentless job responsibilities, therefore, she makes sure they don’t experience burn out since it is her responsibility to keep the families intact (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Since she is not out in the field visiting the homes, she puts her faith in her upper management team to be able to listen and pay attention to any problems or potential future problems (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011). Since she is unable to be out in the field, Williams uses her supervisory skills to train her staff to be able to identify potential problems and also to report back to her what the problems are. If there were problems out in the field (i.e., foster parents, foster children), she shoulders the full responsibility to make sure that the problems are addressed and resolved, or modify changes that are in the best interest of the children.
This paper summarizes the article written by Cam Caldwell, Rolf D. Dixon, Larry A. Floyd, Joe Chaudoin, Johnathan Post, and Gaynor Cheokas regarding the need for a new type of leadership in today’s social work environment, defined as Transformative leadership. The article itself varies in the definition, however in a broad sense Transformative leadership is maintaining good moral standing and sound business ethics among employees and individuals inside and outside the workplace. However, in order to reach this theoretical level of business related moral and ethical leadership known as
Popa. Dr. Popa is an Associate Professor at Gonzaga University. His education includes a MSW from California State University of Long Beach and a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Utah. This article details a study completed by Dr. Popa which examined the perceived leadership within the Division of Child and Family Services (Popa, 2012). Specifically, the question proposed was “How are leadership practices in the Division of Child and Family Services in one State perceived by frontline and administrative staff?” (Popa, 2012, p. 641). Frontline caseworkers and administrators were chosen for the study, which required response to a 10-point Likert scale (Popa, 2012). The frontline participants were asked to provide ratings regarding the leadership behavior of upper level management, whereas the administrators provided ratings regarding their perception of their own leadership practices (Popa, 2012). Participants were asked to measure the leadership dimensions of: challenge, inspiration, enabling, modeling, and encouragement (Popa, 2012). Results of the study showed a significant difference between the administrator and frontline worker responses across all five leadership dimensions (Popa, 2012). Administrators consistently rated their leadership skills higher than their frontline staff rated them
Child protection gets involved for many reasons such as: your children not going to school, somebody calling them on you, or if you're going through some personal issues. A child in need is usually a child that's left alone, has been abused or sees abused between parents.
Being able to lead a group or someone is a very powerful action. Being a leader in general is very powerful. Leadership is an art that is painted, sculpted, and displayed in all sorts of ways. There are many different styles of leadership that correspond with different tasks. From transformational leadership to laissez-faire leadership, there are various styles throughout the continuum. A transformational leader is one of the best, more successful leadership style. When going down the continuum, the leadership styles only become less effective. Everyone also falls in distinctive categories when it comes to leading others. The leadership style that is displayed depends on the person leading and those who are being led along with the task.
The person that I chose to do my transformational leadership person Lady Diana Frances. Lady Dianna was born on July first, 1961. Dianna had four siblings two brothers Charles and John Spencer, two sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Jane Fellowes Baroness Fellowes. Her parents are Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp. Her mother Frances Shand Kydd lived near Oban the Isle of Seil. Dianne mother was a prominent and well-respected figure in the Catholic community. and was noted for her charity work in her faith such as preparing meals for visiting clergies. Dianna mother, Frances Shand Kydd (68) died at home after suffering a long battle from a brain disease. The father of