Date of Award

8-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Executive Leadership

First Supervisor

Sandye Poitier Johnson

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gauge whether the level of preparation among a segment of child protection managers (CPMs) was adequate to meet the challenges of the role. This quantitative-descriptive study looked at a sample of 83 child protection managers in New York City’s Child Welfare System, in terms of their education and training, prior to and following assumption of their role as child protective managers and their self-ratings on five domains (leading change, leading context, leading people, leading for results, and fundamental competencies) derived from a taxonomy developed by the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. Further, the number of trainings before and after becoming a manager was compared to the self-ratings to see whether training influenced these managers’ perceptions of their own competency.

The population of managers was predominantly African American women with a small population of White and Hispanic representation. In reviewing the educational credentials of the managers, 87% percent had a master’s degree. The findings of this study showed that while managers had participated in a variety of individual trainings, there was no consistent/collective set of trainings common to their preparation for assuming the role of a child protective manager. Managers’ ratings of themselves showed that they were moderately skilled. The study found no connection between the number of trainings managers had and how they rated their competency. The researcher recommends the development of a role transition model for newly appointed managers, with a component that addresses ongoing manager development and evaluation of the model.

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