Salaries of CEO’s at Child-Welfare Groups Fail to Keep Pace With Inflation, Report Says

Salaries for top executives of child-welfare groups rose by only 5 per cent from 1995 to 1997, according to a survey by the Child Welfare League of America.

Those increases failed to keep pace with inflation, which climbed by 5.8 per cent during that period, and represented the smallest percentage salary increase for organization leaders since the Child Welfare League began conducting surveys in 1981.

The median salary for chief executive officers of those charities was $78,750 last year — meaning that half of those surveyed earned more and half less.

The Child Welfare League found that assistant executive directors fared far better. They had a median salary of $64,013 in 1997, an increase of 16.4 per cent from 1995 and their largest percentage salary increase since 1989.

Chief financial officers had a median salary of $49,600 last year, an increase of 4.8 per cent over 1995 figures.

Directors of major programs had a median salary of $47,950, an 11.3-per-cent jump, while directors of development had a median salary of $45,894, or a 4.9-per-cent increase.

The league’s survey was based on data from 300 non-profit organizations.

Salaries of chief executives tended to be highest in the Mid-Atlantic states and lowest in the Southern states, according to the survey.

As one would expect, salaries were highest among organizations with the largest incomes.

On average, a top executive’s annual base salary increased approximately $7,348 for every $2-million in a group’s income and about $7,231 for each educational degree the person had earned.

Despite budget cuts at a few organizations, the survey found that the child-welfare work force has continued to expand in recent years. For example, 280 non-profit groups had 37,422 full-time employees in 1997, up from 34,824 the previous year, which is an increase of 7.5 per cent. Last year, 282 organizations reported having 10,750 part-time workers, compared with 9,535 the previous year, an increase of 12.7 per cent.

Child-welfare groups say they have had to expand to meet growing demand for services.

“Too many kids are being abused and neglected and coming into the system,” said David S. Liederman, executive director of the Child Welfare League.

Changes in government welfare programs and other factors will result in more and more children needing help, he said. “We’re in a growth industry, unfortunately.”

Child-welfare organizations reported that their cost of providing benefits to each employee added up to about 22 per cent of each worker’s salary.

The Child Welfare League, in Washington, is an association of nearly 1,000 non-profit organizations and government agencies that serve young people and their families.

The 1997 Salary Study: Child Welfare League of America can be ordered for $26.95 from the Child Welfare League of America, c/o PMDS, 9050 Junction Drive, P.O. Box 2019, Annapolis Junction, Md. 20701-2019; (800) 407-6273 or (301) 617-7825. Copies may also be ordered by sending a fax to (301) 206-9789 or an e-mail to cwla@pmds.com.