Personal And Organizational Factors That Influence The Likelihood That Adult Protective Services Workers Will Remain On the Job Long-Term

Abstract

A secondary data analysis will be used to examine data that was originally collected as part of a cross-sectional survey of adult protective service workers from May 2005 to June 2007. The purpose of this study to gain a better understanding of the socio-demographic and organizational factors that may influence the decision of APS workers to remain on the job in state, public welfare agencies. Data will be analyzed from a sample of 673 APS workers in Texas who completed questionnaires after completing classroom and field training in the Protective Services Training Institute. Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation data analyses will be used to examine the most significant factors that have been empirically linked in past research studies with improving employee retention. There is currently a paucity of research in the area of elder abuse and protection. The majority of employee retention studies are in the area of child welfare. Since this study is specific to gerontological human service workers, this study will fill in the gaps in knowledge on how agencies can increase retention in adult protective services work. Implications for social work policy, research and education will be discussed.