Barancik Foundation to Support Safe Children Coalition with Grant

September 30, 2024 | Sarasota

For Safe Children Coalition, the lead community-based care child welfare agency in Florida’s Circuit 12 (serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties), one of the most pressing challenges is maintaining a sufficient workforce to meet the needs of children and families in the region. This struggle is shared by many industries in this community as well as child welfare agencies throughout the state.

Recruiting and retaining staff has become increasingly difficult due to rising costs of living, a shortage of affordable housing, lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, and historically low salaries in the child welfare sector. As a result of these challenges – combined with the intense nature of the work – the Florida Institute of Child Welfare indicates that the average turnover rate for child welfare workers in Florida ranges from 20% to 50% within the first three years of employment.

Safe Children Coalition (SCC) is proud to say that, of its 300 staff members, more than a third have been with the agency more than four years and nearly 10% of employees have a tenure between 15 and 30 years. With an eye toward succession planning and to ensure the best care for children in our community well into the future, SCC is proactively addressing the recruitment of case managers and retention rate of those who have been with the agency for fewer than two years through a new effort: the Talent Retention Project.

Retaining an experienced workforce is essential for providing high-quality services to children in need, particularly in child welfare, where case management can be a long-term process requiring ongoing relationships with children and families, institutional knowledge, and scores of contacts with various resources and officials. Case manager stability has a direct impact on the quality of care provided and the chances of achieving positive outcomes for children and families.

In order to bolster SCC’s retention rate – as well as to ensure recruited candidates will be a good fit – Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation has awarded a grant of $750,000 to fully fund SCC’s Talent Retention Project. The funds will be utilized over a two-year period to implement strategies aimed at increasing the success rate of hiring the right candidates for high-stress child welfare positions, leadership succession, and fostering a culture of job satisfaction and retention within the organization.

The funds from Barancik Foundation will also be used to create a new position in SCC’s Fatherhood Program.

SCC leaders anticipate that the Talent Retention Project will streamline the onboarding process, significantly increase job satisfaction, and improve overall service delivery to children and families. SCC’s goal is to increase its standing as a highly desirable organization with the ability to attract talent locally and nationally to work in child welfare.  

“This support from Barancik Foundation could not have come at a more appropriate time: a critical area of focus for our new strategic plan is employee recruitment and retention,” said Brena Slater, president and CEO of Safe Children Coalition. “Our data shows that, if we can retain employees beyond the first year or two of employment, this increases the likelihood of team members enjoying long and productive careers with our agency. We are grateful to Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation for its generous support of our Talent Retention Project because we know retaining an experienced workforce means that we can provide better solutions for children and families.”

For more about Safe Children Coalition, visit sccfl.org.