Why do child welfare supervisors leave their jobs? pathways to supervisors’ resignation behavior

Supervisors play crucial roles in child welfare agencies. Supportive and skillful supervisors can increase retention among frontline staff, which in turn can improve the outcomes of children and families involved in the child welfare system. Informed by the Job Demands-Resources Model of Burnout and the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examines pathways to resignation among child welfare supervisors. We analyzed data from the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute Comprehensive Organizational Health Assessment 2014–2019 using a sample of 464 supervisors. Path analysis was conducted to model their resignation. Supervisors’ resignation is directly impacted by their intent to stay. Their resignation is also indirectly impacted by one aspect of job demands (i.e. time pressure), two aspects of job resources (i.e. organizational climate and professional sharing and support) and self-identified gender through various pathways. The mediators on the pathways include self-efficacy, burnout, and job satisfaction. Strategies for increasing supervision retention and implications for future research were discussed. Our study shows the importance of improving organizational climate, reducing time pressure, promoting professional sharing and support, and supporting male supervisors for the prevention of resignation among child welfare supervisors.