Published Articles

Reprinted from Outlook newsletter a publication of the Municipal Management Association of Southern California, Oct 2008

Reprinted from California Special District a publication of the California Special Districts Association, Sept/Oct 2008

The impending retirement boom and resulting worker shortage is one of the major workforce challenges government faces today. Nowhere is the need for talented people more critical than in the public sector. Simply put, to succeed, government must recruit and retain talented people.

CPS Human Resource Services (through its Merit System Services contract) conducted a survey of all Social Service/Human Service departments in California to assess turnover. The purpose was to identify classifications in Social Services/Human Services that are most at risk of turnover and to identify the main reasons for turnover in each classification.

Public human services agencies across the country struggle to provide quality service to their clients with a workforce plagued by high turnover and staff vacancies. To combat these, the State of Michigan Family Independence Agency (FIA) implemented an innovative hiring model, the Centrally Coordinated Hiring Pool (CCHP).

Under this program, FIA was able to:

  • Reduce the number of caseworker vacancies.
  • Reduce the length of time caseworker vacancies remain open.
  • Improve the overall quality of their children's services workers.
  • Save money in the hiring process.

Hamilton County, Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) has implemented an innovative compensation program designed to improve public employee accountability. JFS designed, implemented and continues to administer their pay for performance (PFP) program using a strategic joint labor-management partnership.

With the PFP program, JFS was able to:

  • Reduce the overall incidence of turnover among caseworkers.
  • Retain valuable employees at improved pay.
  • Improve employees' understanding of how their jobs fit into the agency's strategic plan.
  • Maintain wage and salary costs.

In this study, we surveyed the nation's ten largest Children's Services agencies to determine the availability and usefulness of human resources data for workforce planning, and to determine what barriers, if any, impede effective workforce planning.