You are not allowed to tell: organisational culture as a barrier for child protection workers seeking assistance for traumatic stress symptomology

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (02) ◽  
pp. 84-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Oates
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Fear Of Rejection

AbstractChild protection work is one of the most difficult and complex areas of human services practice. Working within a trauma-laden environment often means that practitioner susceptibility to trauma-related mental health issues is an occupational hazard. However, many practitioners are reluctant to seek support when they start to experience symptoms of traumatic stress. This paper considers current literature relating to child protection workers’ exposure to work-related traumatic material, resulting traumatic stress symptomology and organisational responses to practitioner distress. Results from a recent doctoral study that explores the experiences of child protection practitioners based in Queensland will be presented. Findings from the study were derived from qualitative in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The study findings indicate that the organisational culture within statutory child protection agencies creates an environment where practitioners are labelled as incompetent or not suitable for child protection work when they disclose experiencing symptoms of traumatic stress. The experience of bullying and retribution by supervisors and colleagues and the fear of rejection by the workgroup were also found to be significant barriers for workers seeking support.

Today in Light of Yesterday: An Exploration of Workers’ Childhood Memories in the Context of Child Protection Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean A R St. Jean ◽  
Brian Rasmussen ◽  
Judy Gillespie ◽  
Daniel Salhani
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Childhood Memories ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
Professional Experiences ◽  
Explorative Study ◽  
Parents And Children

Abstract Child protection workers are routinely faced with emotionally intense work, both personally and vicariously through the traumatic narratives and experiences of parents and children. What remains largely unknown is how child protection workers’ own childhood memories might influence the manner in which they experience and are affected by those narratives. The aim of this explorative study was to use Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as a research methodology to answer the research question, ‘In what ways do social workers experience, and make sense of, their own childhood memories in the context of their child protection practice?’ Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight child protection workers, aiming to understand their personal and professional experiences with regard to this question. The study found a relationship between various forms of childhood adversity and the presence of negative present-day triggers when participants were faced with practice scenarios that bore similarity to those experiences. Implications with regard to child protection worker well-being, countertransference and risk decision-making are discussed.

scholarly journals Australian Foster Carers’ Views and Concerns Regarding Maternal Drug Use and the Safety of Breastmilk

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Stacy Blythe ◽  
Kath Peters ◽  
Emma Elcombe ◽  
Elaine Burns ◽  
Karleen Gribble
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Infant Health ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Maternal Caregiving ◽  
Health And Development ◽  
Major Factors

Parental substance misuse and mental health issues are major factors associated with infant placement into out-of-home care. Such placements may result in disruption and/or cessation of breastfeeding. Provision of breastmilk to infants in out-of-home care (OOHC) is desirable in terms of infant health and development, and also in supporting maternal caregiving. However, little is known about how breastfeeding is supported for infants in out-of-home care. This study used an online survey to explore the facilitation of breastfeeding in the context of OOHC and foster carers’ management of expressed breastmilk (EBM). Foster carers were generally open to the idea of maternal breastfeeding and infants in their care receiving EBM from their mothers. However, the majority of respondents expressed concern regarding the safety of EBM for infant consumption due to the possibility of harmful substances in the milk. Concerns regarding the safety of handling EBM were also prevalent. These concerns caused foster carers to discard EBM. Findings suggest foster carers’ may lack knowledge related to maternal substance use and breastmilk. Better integration between health care and social service systems, where the voices of mothers, foster carers and child protection workers are heard, is necessary to develop solutions enabling infants living in OOHC access to their mother’s breastmilk.

Exploring Policy Implications of Ethics of Care and Justice in Care Work and Human Services Organizations

2021 ◽  
pp. 193672442110274
Author(s):  
Christa J. Moore ◽  
Patricia Gagné
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Ethics Of Care ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Care Work ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Bureaucratic Constraints

Much attention has recently been focused on the efficacy of cross-sector collaboration within the field of human services in response to increasing rates of child maltreatment and subsequent foster care entries nationwide. Our research includes 200 hours of participant observation, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 65 professionals broadly involved in the protection of vulnerable children and the support of their parents, and an analysis of 45 case files. It was carried out in a rural region of Kentucky between May 2015 and July 2017. We used established principles of analytic induction to analyze our data. In this study, we explore perceptions of power, authority, inequality, and bureaucratic constraints that emerge during organizational processes of interagency collaboration among multidisciplinary human service organizations situated within the child welfare system. We argue that ethics of care and, subsequently, care work are constrained by power dynamics, primarily embedded in bureaucratically structured human service organizations as well as in policy mandates that embody ethics of justice. We conclude that the tensions between bureaucratic constraints and professional workers’ desire to care for and serve clients often disrupt and undermine organizational missions and policy goals targeting child protection. We indicate the need to examine these structural dynamics at a policy level and provide recommendations with policy implications.

Barriers and solutions: Australian Indigenous practitioners on addressing disproportionate representation of Indigenous Australian children known to statutory child protection

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Oates
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Disproportionate Representation ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Indigenous Child ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Programme Design ◽  
Indigenous Children

The rate of Indigenous child removal in Australia has been referred to as an epidemic. With numbers predicted to increase in the near to medium future exploring alternative ways to engage Indigenous children and families is critical. This article outlines the views of Indigenous practitioners collected as part of a doctoral study exploring the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners who undertake child protection work in Australia. Practitioner narratives were elicited by way of qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews. The narratives of practitioners identify barriers in contemporary statutory child protection practices that may contribute to the disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in the statutory child protection system. Potential solutions offered by practitioners including cultural supervision for non-Indigenous practitioners are also outlined. The narratives of participants indicate that Indigenous practitioner-led policy, practice, training and programme design is critical to addressing the escalating rates of Indigenous child removal in Australia.

Parental participation in child protection practice: The experiences of parents and workers in Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebenezer Cudjoe ◽  
Alhassan Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Western World ◽  
Parental Participation ◽  
User Needs ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Participatory Practices ◽  
Parents Experiences

Promoting parental participation is one of the complex and delicate areas of child protection practice. Several authors argue that ensuring the participation of service users in child protection is a way to ensure a fit between service user needs and services. Studies on parental participation exist in some countries in the Western world, however, this is lacking in Ghana. This is the first study in Ghana to explore child protection workers and parents’ experiences on participatory practices. Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 8 child protection workers and 19 parents, this study reports participants’ experiences of participatory practices. Workers indicated they ensured transparency and diversity while promoting participatory practices and parents reported their engagement in decision making as a prominent feature of their participation in case meetings. Barriers to participation were identified by the participants. The study findings suggested some measures to be put in place to overcome these barriers to ensure the full participation of parents during case meetings.

Learning whilst working

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-200
Author(s):  
Norma D’Annunzio-Green ◽  
Paul Barron
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
Learning Transfer ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine student learner perceptions of benefits, barriers and enablers in learning whilst working, specifically focussing, on learning transfer from a university MSc in human resource management to students’ professional roles as human resource practitioners. Design/methodology/approach The study used in-depth semi-structured interviews with alumni of the programme who had graduated between one to three years previously. Findings The study found benefits (increased self-confidence, credibility and networking skills) as well as unanticipated challenges relating to individual learner characteristics, organisational culture and work-related support that hindered learning transfer. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to understanding the mechanisms required to support part-time learners on continuing vocational education programmes from a variety of stakeholders including students, their managers, their university and work colleagues, and academic staff. It highlights the benefits of activities designed to help students relate theory to practice and facilitate the transfer of knowledge between academic and practitioner environments. Practical implications The study highlights learner perspectives that are focussed on how organisational culture and line managers might play a more central role in influencing how people learn at work and facilitate the transfer of learning from formal educational interventions. Originality/value The study is valuable to academics and practitioners interested in improving learning transfer from formal educational to professional settings.

scholarly journals Exploring the implications of the influence of organisational culture on work-life balance practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 454-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toyin Ajibade Adisa ◽  
Chima Mordi ◽  
Ellis L.C. Osabutey
Keyword(s):  
Working Hours ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Medical Doctors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related

Purpose Whilst significant evidence of western work-life balance (WLB) challenges exists, studies that explore Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are scarce. The purpose of this paper is to explore how organisational culture in Nigerian medical organisations influences doctors’ WLB and examine the implications of supportive and unsupportive cultures on doctors’ WLB. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses qualitative data gleaned from semi-structured interviews of 60 medical doctors across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria in order to elicit WLB challenges within the context of organisational culture. Findings The findings show that organisational culture strongly influences employees’ abilities to use WLB policies. Unsupportive culture resulting from a lack of support from managers, supervisors, and colleagues together with long working hours influenced by shift work patterns, a required physical presence in the workplace, and organisational time expectations exacerbate the challenges that Nigerian medical doctors face in coping with work demands and non-work-related responsibilities. The findings emphasise how ICT and institutions also influence WLB. Originality/value The paper addresses the underresearched SSA context of WLB and emphasises how human resource management policies and practices are influenced by the complex interaction of organisational, cultural, and institutional settings.

Family Violence and Child Protection

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gill Callister
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Alcohol Abuse ◽  
Family Violence ◽  
Community Violence ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Psychiatric Disability ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
Department Of Human Services ◽  
Parental Characteristic

Family violence is a serious and widespread issue in our community. Violence between adults within the same family is a risk factor encountered by child protection workers at all points of child protection intervention. Accurately measuring the extent of family violence within the general community and within families notified to child protection is difficult, but we do know that it is an increasing aspect of the workload of Child Protection workers. The Department of Human Services Child Protection program tracks the number and types of characteristics for parents involved with Child Protection according to six categories. These categories are: psychiatric disability, intellectual disability, physical disability, family violence, alcohol abuse and substance abuse. For substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect the percentage of families with family violence noted as a parental characteristic increased from 38 per cent in 1996-97 to 52 per cent in 2000-01 (Department of Human Services 2002). The same data also indicates that for parents for whom family violence was the major parental characteristic recorded over the past five-year period, the co-occurrence of psychiatric disability increased by more than 50 per cent, alcohol abuse increased by 20 per cent, and substance abuse increased by 52 per cent.

scholarly journals Standardization and adaptability for dissemination of telephone peer support for high-risk groups: general evaluation and lessons learned

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 506-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Evans ◽  
Patrick Y Tang ◽  
Nivedita Bhushan ◽  
Edwin B Fisher ◽  
Dawn Dreyer Valovcin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Behavioral Health Care ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
General Evaluation ◽  
Professional Treatment

Abstract Beyond demonstrated effectiveness, research needs to identify how peer support can be implemented in real-world settings. Telephone peer support offers one approach to this. The purpose of this study is to evaluate telephone peer support provided by trained peer staff for high-risk groups, implemented according to key tasks or functions of the Reciprocal Peer Support model (RPS) providing both standardization and adaptability. The methods used in the study include the review of contact data for years 2015–2016 from telephone peer support services of Rutgers Health University Behavioral Health Care, serving veterans, police, mothers of children with special needs, and child protection workers; structured interviews with peer supporters and clients; and audit of case notes. Across 2015–2016, peer supporters made 64,786 contacts with a total of 5,616 callers. Adaptability was apparent in 22% of callers’ relationships lasting ≤1 month and 43% ≥1 year, voicemails valued as communicating presence, 92% of callers receiving support with psychosocial issues, 65% with concrete problems, such as medical or other services, 88% receiving social support, and 88% either resolving an issue (e.g., finding employment) or making documented progress (e.g., getting professional treatment, insurance, or children’s services). With the balance of standardization and adaptability provided by the RPS, telephone peer support can address diverse needs and provide diverse contact patterns, assistance, support, and benefits.

Work-related stressors accompanying school social workers while assessing children’s well-being: A comparative study between Germany and Finland

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282199674
Author(s):  
Kathrin Franziska Beck ◽  
Riitta Vornanen ◽  
Juha Hämäläinen ◽  
Stefan Borrmann
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Case Vignette ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Country Specific ◽  
Work Related Stressors

This article presents the results of a comparative study investigating work-related stressors (WRSs) that accompany German and Finnish school social workers (SSWs) while assessing children’s well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in combination with the case vignette technique. The interview data were subjected to a coding process and visualized with the MAXQDA software program. The findings are embedded in the respective country-specific socio-political and legislative context and suggest that the SSWs are confronted with several, but different WRSs, depending on whether they have a child protection mandate (Germany) or not (Finland). Recommendations are generated based on the findings.

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