← All tools & resources
Free tool · Turnover Cost Calculator

What does staff turnover
cost the families you serve?

Enter your frontline numbers. We'll show you what turnover costs in dollars, in transferred cases, and in the one metric that matters most, how many families will meet a new worker this year.

Your numbers

Caseworkers, home visitors, advocates, clinicians, anyone who carries a caseload.
Base pay only. Replacement cost is applied as a percentage below.
Share of frontline staff who leave in a year. Don't know yours? Use a benchmark.
Families or children assigned per worker. Published standards run 1:10 for CPS and foster care in some states.
Recruiting, onboarding, training time, and lost productivity. Research estimates commonly fall between 30% and 150% depending on role and agency.
Families who will meet a new worker this year
135
That's 8 departures × 18 cases each, handed to someone who has to start the relationship over.
Each dot is one family or child whose case transfers.
Departures this year
8
Staff expected to leave at your turnover rate.
Direct replacement cost
$208,000
Departures × salary × replacement percentage.
Cost above healthy turnover
$117,000
What you'd keep if turnover were 12%, the level Casey Family Programs calls healthy.
Permanency at risk
–
Children with one consistent caseworker reach permanency 74.5% of the time. Each added worker lowers that sharply.

Where you sit against the benchmarks

0%12% healthy30% avg60%+

At 30%, you're at the estimated national average for child welfare, two and a half times the healthy ceiling.

Turnover is partly a systems problem. Documentation burden and disconnected intake are among the reasons workers leave. Find out where your digital infrastructure stands.

Take the readiness scorecard

Sources

  1. National caseworker turnover of roughly 30% per year, with a range of 20–60%, per the Child Welfare League of America; Casey Family Programs identifies 12% or below as healthy. Cited in Binti, "Social Worker Burnout," May 2026 and Casey Family Programs, "Turnover costs and retention strategies".
  2. Children with one consistent caseworker achieve permanency 74.5% of the time, dropping with each additional worker, CWLA workforce brief, as summarized by Binti (above).
  3. Missouri frontline turnover of 40% at end of FY2025, Missouri Independent, Jan 26, 2026.
  4. Caseload standards of 1:10 for CPS and foster care staff, Louisiana Legislative Auditor, reported by Louisiana Illuminator, June 10, 2025.
  5. High caseloads and extensive, time-sensitive documentation as turnover drivers, Children and Youth Services Review, 2022.

Replacement-cost percentage is user-adjustable because published estimates vary widely by role and agency. This calculator models direct cost only; it excludes overtime, supervisor time, and the cost of delayed permanency.