Personal and Professional Impacts of Work-Related Stress Alleviation Strategies Among Child Welfare Workers in Child Advocacy Center Settings

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.

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Social Media Use in Child Welfare Practice

Advances in Social Work ◽

10.18060/20880 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 93-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Todd Edward Sage ◽

Melanie Sage

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Child Welfare ◽

Online Survey ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Media Use ◽

Child Welfare Workers ◽

Social Media Use ◽

Work Related ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

Welfare Workers

The scholarly child welfare literature offers little information about the use of social media by child welfare workers. We conducted a study of 171 child welfare workers across several states using an online survey. The resulting data offer insights from workers about current practices related to social media use in a child welfare work setting. Most respondents see social media as an acceptable tool for conducting child welfare assessments. Respondents describe strains and benefits of social media use. It is recommended that agencies provide guidance on ethical decision-making for using social media as a work-related tool. Agencies should also provide policy clearly defining social media use and misuse.

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A longitudinal study of stress and satisfaction among child welfare workers

Journal of Social Work ◽

10.1177/1468017318757557 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 192-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sandhya Rao Hermon ◽

Rose Chahla

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Child Welfare ◽

Child Welfare Workers ◽

Child Welfare Agencies ◽

Public Child Welfare ◽

Client Relationships ◽

Related Stress ◽

Welfare Workers ◽

Welfare Agencies ◽

Staff Workload

Summary Stress and satisfaction have long been topics of research and interest in public child welfare, particularly in relation to their links with retention. Fewer studies have focused on specific facets of stress and satisfaction among public child welfare workers. In this sample of 160 retained specially-trained former students, sources of stress and satisfaction were examined three and five years after the conclusion of the students’ work obligation. Findings With regard to stress, paired t-tests revealed that while workload stress increased from Year 3 to Year 5, child-related stress went down. The same downward movement was also noted for the work–life flexibility aspect of job satisfaction from Years 3 to 5. Additionally, regression analyses indicated that higher workload stress at Year 3 was predictive of diminished satisfaction with client relationships. Applications The findings suggest that even among retained staff, workload stress can be caustic, diminishing job satisfaction with client relationships. Implications for public child welfare agencies, and the importance of going beyond retention as a final measure for worker success are explored.

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