The following final report sections are excerpted from a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) grant final report. Only those sections that give results for States that utilized Realistic Job Previews are included; both Kentucky and Delaware utilized other retention strategies. Washington did not report on RJP interventions. For background on the entire report see Case Study/How RJPs Have Been Applied [2.2.1.i] and other RJP information on this Web portal.

 

Name of Report:  CMS Direct Service Workforce Improvement Demonstration Summary of Grantee Findings and Project Outcomes 2003-2007

Funded by: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Prepared by:  Carrie Blakeway and Lauren Coughlin of the Lewin Group for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services

 

Date:  June 2008

“In the first year of implementation, over 90 percent of DSWs who completed the pre-service orientation [RJP] in Kentucky were retained beyond the critical 3-month period. Candidates who participated in the orientation and decided against pursuing a career saved the partner agencies an estimated $2,500 to $3,200 in startup and training expenses. Although the SPEAK partner agencies experienced mixed success with implementing the mentoring/apprenticeship strategy, they were still able to achieve the goal of retaining 90 percent of DSWs. On average, annual turnover rates dropped across all participating agencies, from 75 percent to 35 percent between 2005 and 2006.”

“Among the four agencies where an improvement in tenure occurred, the average percentage point change was 17.4. The average tenure of current staff showed an overall increase of 1.9 months (ranging from -3.9 months to +12.7 months), although three of the five agencies exhibited small declines in tenure. Among workers who did leave the field, average tenure showed an overall increase of 3.6 months. Turnover rates in Delaware also decreased an average of 7.3 percentage points, ranging from +6.4 percent to -31.3 percent among participating agencies.”

 

The Washington Project information was not available in the final report.