I n Maine, as in most states, the merit system established to ensure a fair hiring and selection process is cumbersome and inefficient. The challenges presented by this process are exacerbated in positions such as the child welfare caseworker where turnover is extremely high. 1 The problems experienced by Maine child welfare supervisors with the tradi tional process are summarized in Table One. The register was open on a continual basis. Candidates for child welfare caseworker positions applied at any time, their application was scored using a Training and Experience (T&E) rating, and they were then placed on the register. As vacancies occurred in the regions, the hiring supervi sor requested the top six names on the register. Only after all six had been inter viewed, could additional names be requested. If all six were rejected, they still remained in their position at the top of the register on the basis of their T&E score. When a new vacancy occurred, they were re-interviewed due to the existing certifi cation rules. As a result, positions remained open for several months creating higher caseloads for other caseworkers and exacerbating the burnout-turnover spiral.The lack of standardized hiring practices across the state created the need to conduct interviews whenever a specific vacancy occurred. Supervisors, without clear criteria of what they were looking for in the selection interview, subjected candidates to protracted interviews only to reject them as not acceptable. Without statewide agreement on screening criteria, the same applicants were interviewed in several dif ferent regions. And without valid criteria for rejection, the register was filled with "deadwood," candidates who had been interviewed several times and rejected.Frustration at the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the system was widespread when in the spring of 1995, the Maine State Bureau of Human Resources informed
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