Missouri Family Development
Training and Credentialing
Program (FDC)
Evaluation of a training program
for family service workers

Conference Presentation and
St. Louis Focus Group Research:
Megan McCarthy, MSW Candidate
George Warren Brown School of Social Work
Washington University in St. Louis

Principal Investigator: Deborah B. Smith, Ph.D.
Director, Family Studies Program
University of Missouri- Kansas City
St. Louis Evaluation


MO FDC is currently being evaluated
throughout the state by the University
of Missouri- Kansas City.
A separate evaluation study was
conducted by this author at the St.
Louis agency that facilitates the FDC
program for the city.
Study Goals


Evaluate effectiveness for the St. Louis
agency.
Test the hypothesis:

“the FDC training program improves
confidence, efficacy, and assertiveness
amongst participants and affects workers’
perception of the communication with
client family members.”
Theoretical Background


Freudenberg (1974) coins the term burnout.
Maslach (1996) defines the term: “Burnout is
a psychological syndrome of emotional
exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced
personal accomplishment that can occur
among individuals who work with other
people in some capacity” (p. 192).

Research shows
that emotional
exhaustion,
depersonalization,
and decreased
personal
accomplishment
correlate positively
with low job
satisfaction.

The consequences of burnout in human
service professionals can include
decreased work effectiveness,
absenteeism, physical symptoms, drug
and alcohol abuse, insomnia, interpersonal
problems, and job turnover.

Shapiro found that higher
amounts of professional
reading correlated
significantly with higher
levels of job satisfaction.
Additionally, professionals
who attended more
trainings scored
significantly higher on the
self-actualization factor of
the job satisfaction
questionnaire.

Research finds significant
associations between an impaired
sense of accomplishment with
clients and higher levels of
burnout.
Methods



Convenience sample of former FDC
participants.
Subjects worked at a variety of social service
agencies in St. Louis, including the Division of
Family Services, YWCA, Head Start, battered
women’s shelters, and community
organizations
Focus groups were conducted with FDC
program participants and two questionnaires
(demographics, job satisfaction, and
facilitator evaluation) administered.
Methods, cont.

Based on New York State evaluation,
Focus group questions asked about
three concepts:



Assertiveness and Confidence of workers
Perceptions of effectiveness with clients
Empowerment of workers
Methods, cont.

Sub-topics explored included:




Self care and stress
Communication with clients
Setting limits and boundaries
What worked and didn’t work about the
facilitation style, content, etc.
Important Definitions




Confidence: a feeling of being sure about
oneself and comfortable in one’s
environment.
Efficacy: a feeling of being capable of
creating change and of being useful and
helpful to clients.
Assertiveness: behavior that clearly states
one’s needs and wants without aggression or
submission.
Study participants were familiar with these
definitions as they are addressed in the
training program content.
Demographics



Participants were primarily African American
females, with one Caucasian female and
one Native American male.
Most workers held a bachelor’s degree and
had work experience in the field.
Some workers were instructed to take this
training by their employer, others had to
persuade their employer to let them
participate.
Results, Participants Report:




new ability to set limits with clients, let go,
and step back from clients’ successes and
failures.
new ability to let clients set their own goals
and ability to partner with clients instead of
taking over.
new ability to take care of themselves and
avoid burnout.
new ability to focus on strengths with clients.
Participants Report:




increased skill in communication.
new feeling of respect from coworkers,
supervisors, and colleagues.
being more organized and focused in their
work, as well as having more tools at their
disposal for working with clients (e.g. the
Family Development Plan form).
Participants attributed all of
these changes to the FDC
Program.
Results



Participants overall satisfaction with the FDC
program was rated as good, with one person
rating it as excellent and one rating it as
average.
Colleges graduates rated their satisfaction with
the FDC training higher than those without
college degrees.
Seven of the eight participants found the
training either very useful or somewhat useful.
Significance of the Findings:



Results do indicate a link between feelings of
effectiveness, empowerment, and confidence
among workers and their participation in the
FDC program.
FDC may increase job satisfaction and/or
lower worker turnover.
Significance of these findings is limited by the
small sample size. An experimental pre and
post survey is underway.
Possible Benefits for
Organizations:



Workers who feel effective,
empowered, and confident
experience more satisfaction
in their professional lives.
Training programs can
increase these positive
feelings and reduce turnover.
Particularly for social service
workers, who may
experience higher levels of
burnout, training and support
is a must!
Future Research

The Family Studies Program of the
University of Missouri- Kansas City, led
by Dr. Deborah Smith, is investigating
the link between the FDC program and
job satisfaction, as well as evaluating
the overall effectiveness of the entire
MO FDC Program.
Contact Information


Principal Investigator:
Deborah B. Smith, Ph.D.
Director, UMKC Family Studies Program
www.umkc.edu/mofdc or Google keyword “family development”
familystudies@umkc.edu
(816) 235-2298
Conference Presenter, focus group researcher, & St. Louis contact:
Megan McCarthy, MSW Candidate
mmccarthy@gwbmail.wustl.edu
(314) 762-9296