This practicum sought to elevate the morale level of direct-care staff in a residential group care setting providing residential care to dependent, neglected, and/or abused children ages 7 through 17. Four solution strategies were attempted that addressed the areas of staff support, communication, and recognition. A representative of a top administrative position conducted personal visits with staff at service sites. Three roundtable dialoguing meetings were held within each of three regions. Agency communication was enhanced through retargeting and increasing the frequency of an intra-agency publication so that its focus was on direct care staff. All staff were deputized to assist administration in identifying and recognizing direct-care staff who demonstrated exemplary service. A system was established for receiving and acknowledging recommendations and for inducting selected staff members into an honor society. Two of three objectives were met with the third being impacted through an unexpected turn of events unrelated to the solution strategies. Turnovers which had averaged 10 per quarter were reduced to zero during the implementation period. Supervisors of direct-care staff reported improvement in the general morale levels of their supervisees following implementation. While self-reported job satisfaction ratings among these staff reflected some improvement, the degree of improvement did not meet the objective. The results clearly demonstrated the potential of proactive intervention techniques for improving the morale level of staff. (Author/ABL)