Culturally Relevant, Trauma-Informed Engagement Strategies for Child Welfare Workers: Moving Beyond Compliance to Engagement with Families Experiencing High Levels of Exposure to Trauma and Stress

2017 ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tricia Stephens ◽  
Geetha Gopalan ◽  
Mary C. Acri ◽  
Melissa Bowman ◽  
Mary McKernan McKay
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Engagement Strategies ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Welfare Workers ◽  
Exposure To Trauma

Impacts of child welfare worker and clientele characteristics on attitudes toward trauma informed-care

2020 ◽  
pp. 251610322096313
Author(s):  
Delphine Collin-Vézina ◽  
Denise Brend ◽  
Karen Black ◽  
Irene Beeman ◽  
Steve Brown
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Frontline Staff ◽  
Worker Attitudes ◽  
Trauma Informed Care ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Welfare Workers

Background: There is increasing recognition of the need to integrate trauma-informed care (TIC) into child welfare practices, given the high rates of trauma experiences among children and youth across these settings. The implementation of TIC is facilitated by various elements, including worker attitudes, yet further research is needed to illuminate the factors that influence child welfare workers’ positive regard for TIC. Objectives: This study aims to explore the relationship between child welfare worker attitudes regarding TIC with workers’ and clients’ individual characteristics. Methods: N = 418 child welfare workers from 11 agencies completed two measures: a demographic questionnaire as well as the French translated version of the ARTIC-35 questionnaire comprised of five subscales. Linear mixed effects models were run for each ARTIC subscale, examining how child and worker factors affect attitudes toward TIC. Results: Participants indicated relatively positive attitudes toward TIC. Managerial staff in offender units scored higher on the subscale regarding their beliefs about the causes underlying child behaviors and on the subscale regarding beliefs about the secondary effects of trauma, than their counterparts in protection units serving boys. Managers scored higher than frontline staff on worker self-efficacy, response to problem behavior, and on-the-job behavior subscales. Workers with a community college degree—and not a university degree–indicated greater sense of self-efficacy. Conclusions: This study points to the importance of paying attention to the characteristics of both workers and clients that may influence inclination toward TIC principles, as a means to build effective integration of this approach in child-serving settings.

scholarly journals Title IV-E Child Welfare Training and University Partnerships: Transforming State Child Protection Services into a Trauma-Informed System

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-249
Author(s):  
Robin Hernandez-Mekonnen ◽  
Dawn Konrady
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Title Iv ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
State Child ◽  
Welfare Workers

Children who are involved in the child welfare system have experienced trauma, and research indicates that parents of those children also frequently grapple with their own unresolved trauma. In addition, child welfare workers face high rates of secondary traumatic stress. Federal legislation from 2011 requires states to conduct universal trauma screening on children in foster care. The Administration on Children and Families (ACF) urges state Child Protection agencies (CPS) to become trauma-informed, however, many states still struggle to integrate a trauma focused practice model. This article describes the outcomes of a national, empirically driven, Core Concepts in Child Trauma for Child Welfare curriculum utilized in a Title IV-E university partnership program to teach graduate level child welfare agency supervisors. Findings suggest that the graduate trauma course demonstrates statistically significant gains in confidence, and also has a profound impact on the agency’s transformation into a trauma-informed system

Children’s Participation in Decision Making From Child Welfare Workers’ Perspectives: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152098484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karmen Toros
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Participation In Decision Making ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Welfare Workers

This article explores child welfare workers’ experiences of children’s participation in decision making in the child protection system. The systematic review follows the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement and includes 12 peer-reviewed articles published in academic journals from 2009 to 2019. Findings indicate that children’s participation in decision making is generally limited or nonexistent. The age of the child is an important determining factor concerning whether the child is given the opportunity to participate in decision making. Potential harm for children that may result from participation is considered when deciding on whether to include a child in the decision-making process.

scholarly journals Association between Work-Related Trauma Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Child Welfare Workers in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3541
Author(s):  
Mayumi Kataoka ◽  
Daisuke Nishi
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Traumatic Events ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Welfare Workers

Child welfare workers often experience work-related traumatic events and may be at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can hinder early interventions for child abuse. This study examined the association between each single work-related traumatic event experienced by child welfare workers and the cumulative number of traumatic event types with PTSD symptoms. A checklist of traumatic events was used to investigate work-related traumatic events. The PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) was used to screen for PTSD symptoms. Two multivariate analyses were performed. A total of 140 workers were included in the analyses. In the first multivariate analysis, the event, “Witnessed a parent violently beating, hitting, kicking, or otherwise injuring a child or the other parent during work” (β = 11.96; 95% CI, 2.11–21.80; p < 0.05) and resilience (β = −0.60; 95% CI, −0.84 to −0.36; p < 0.01) were significantly associated with PTSD symptoms, as was resilience in the second multivariate analysis (β = −0.60; 95%CI, −0.84 to −0.36; p < 0.01). The association between the cumulative number of event types and PTSD symptoms was not significant, but it was stronger when the cumulative number was four or more. The findings suggest the importance of reducing child welfare worker exposure to traumatic events.

scholarly journals Risk of Future Maltreatment: Examining Whether Worker Characteristics Predict Their Perception

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755952110314
Author(s):  
Kristen Lwin ◽  
Joanne Filippelli ◽  
Barbara Fallon ◽  
Jason King ◽  
Nico Trocmé
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Perception Of Risk ◽  
Worker Characteristics ◽  
Welfare Workers

Child welfare workers aim to promote the well-being and safety of children and are the link between the child welfare system and families. Families served by the child welfare system should expect similar service based on clinical factors, not based on their caseworker’s characteristics. Using secondary data analyses of the most recent Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2008) and multilevel modeling, this study examines whether child welfare worker characteristics, such as education level and field, age, and experience predict their perception of the risk of future maltreatment. A total of 1729 case-level investigations and 419 child welfare workers were included in this study. Several one-level logistic regression and two-level logistic regression analyses were run. The best-fit model suggests that caseworkers with a Master’s degree, more than 2 years of experience, and more than 18 cases were significantly more likely to perceive risk of future maltreatment. Further, the interaction between degree level and age also significantly predicted the perception of risk of future maltreatment. Results suggest that the perception of risk of future maltreatment may be influenced by caseworker factors, thus service to families may differ based on caseworker characteristics.

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