The following resources provide examples of and results from caseload, workload, and time studies or analysis. The goal of many of the resources is to determine appropriate staffing levels, caseload standards, and/or workload. Several of the resources are overall child welfare system or workload evaluations of which caseload and workload were a part of the evaluation.
Child Protective Investigator and Child Protective Investigator Supervisor Educational Qualifications, Turnover, and Working Conditions Status Report: Annual Report (PDF - 468 KB)
Florida Department of Children and Families, Office of Child Welfare (2018)
Provides an update on the state of the Florida child protective workforce and mentions the impact high workloads has on retention rates. Of note is the section describing how they determine caseload sizes and workload.
Colorado Department of Human Services: Colorado Child Welfare County Workload Study
ICF International & Walter R. McDonald & Associates (2014)
Provides an overview of the methodology, results, and recommendations from a time and workload study done on the Colorado child welfare workforce for the Colorado Legislative Audit Committee. Also available: Colorado Child Welfare County Workload Study (PDF - 176 KB).
Field Workload Analysis Brief (PDF - 768 KB)
Bonaventura (2015)
Indiana Department of Child Services
Summarizes in two pages the need for, findings, and follow-up requested from a workload analysis done by Deloitte Consulting for the Indiana Department of Child Services. Also available: Annual Staffing and Caseload Report to the State Budget Committee and Legislative Council (PDF - 238 KB).
Final Report: Child Welfare Social Worker Caseloads
Ventura County Grand Jury (2018)
Provides a summary of the investigation conducted by the Ventura County Grand Jury into whether child welfare workers had reasonable caseloads and the way reasonable was defined by them and by the County of Ventura Human Services Agency, Children and Family Services. The Grand Jury’s prior report (PDF - 691 KB) describes their rationale for requesting reasonable caseloads to be established and their recommendations for the agency.
Maine Office of Child and Family Services: Child Welfare Evaluation and Business Process ReDesign (PDF - 4,680 KB)
Public Consulting Group (2019)
Summarizes the findings of an evaluation of the child welfare business processes within the Maine child welfare system and provides recommendations for follow-up. Processes that impact workload and caseload are mentioned throughout the report; however, pages 101–104 in particular describe workload measures, including the Random Moment Time Study that Maine has used in the past and currently to estimate workload. Also available: Frontline Workers in the State Child Protective System: Perspectives on Factors That Impact Effectiveness and Efficiency of Child Protective Work.
North Carolina Statewide Child Protective Services Evaluation: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Social Services (PDF - 2,724 KB)
Public Consulting Group (2016)
Summarizes an evaluation of and recommendations for North Carolina’s child protective services department, including its performance, caseload sizes, administrative structure, adequacy of funding, social worker turnover, and monitoring and oversight. The report describes how they determined caseload sizes were too high and recommends a further workload study.
Research Agenda: Child Welfare Department of Human Services (PDF - 810 KB)
Bellatty & Kolb (2017)
Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS)
Provides an overview of the ways that Oregon DHS plans to utilize data to inform research and decisions related to child welfare. Of note is the section on caseload and workload where data measures and related outcomes are discussed, including the integration of Random Moment Surveys with studying staff allocation.
Texas Child Protective Services Workload Assessment Final Report (PDF - 927 KB)
Ostrom, Kleiman, Lee, & Roth (2016)
National Center for State Courts, Research Division
Describes the process of determining a case weight for child protective services cases in the district courts of Texas so that judicial workload is fair and adequate for high-quality work.
Time Study of DCF Social Work Staff During March 2016 as Requested by the Department of Children and Families’ Administration and AFSCME Local 2663 (PDF - 774 KB)
Connecticut Department of Children and Families Administration (DCF) Court Monitor’s Office (2017)
Provides an overview of the purpose behind, methodology of, and the findings from a qualitative and quantitative time study completed on the DCF workforce in Connecticut.
Time Use Studies: Studying Workforce Time Use to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families
Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago (2018)
Discusses how Chapin Hall’s Data Center came up with a Time Use and Costing System and framework and shares some information about how it has been implemented.
Workload Report to the 79th Legislative Assembly (PDF - 353 KB)
Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) (2017)
Reports on the workload increases and decreases, workload efficiencies, and direct-service delivery staffing needs for DHS programs. Child welfare services is reported on and staffing levels are measured through a workload model that is informed by a timing survey (pages 2–4). Also available: Workload Report to the 78th Legislative Assembly (PDF - 245 KB).