scholarly journals Self-Efficacy in Newly-Hired Child Welfare Workers

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Cherry ◽  
Bruce Dalton ◽  
Angela Dugan
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Supervisory Support ◽  
Training And Supervision ◽  
Worker Characteristics ◽  
Welfare Workers ◽  
Newly Hired

Child abuse and neglect in the United States resulted in 676,569 reports in 2011 (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2012). Workers in this field struggle with low pay, high caseloads, inadequate training and supervision, and risk of violence, all of which contribute to worker burnout and poor worker retention rates. Worker self-efficacy is predictive of worker retention, job performance, and persistence in this difficult field. This paper reports the development of a new measure of self-efficacy from a sample of 395 child welfare workers. Factor analysis revealed two domains of self-efficacy, direct practice and indirect practice, which can be modestly predicted by worker characteristics upon hire and the training program the workers attend. Worker self-efficacy can be used to identify vulnerable workers who may be especially in need of strong supervisory support as well as understand who to target for recruitment. A review of the literature of self-efficacy in child welfare workers is included.

Predictors of Early Departure among Recently Hired Child Welfare Workers

Social Work ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 188-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina J Wilke ◽  
Sarah Rakes ◽  
Karen A Randolph
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Organizational Influences ◽  
Worker Characteristics ◽  
Organizational Attention ◽  
Workforce Turnover ◽  
Early Departure ◽  
Welfare Workers ◽  
Newly Hired

Abstract Child welfare workforce turnover has been well studied, although there is limited understanding of factors related to the timing of departure. This study examines predictors of early job departure among newly hired child welfare workers. Data come from the first two waves of a longitudinal study. The sample for this analysis included 1,257 respondents. Hierarchical logistical regression was used to investigate worker characteristics and organizational influences on early departure. Early leavers, or those who left within the first six months, were 14.8 percent (n = 186) of the sample. Regression results indicated that two worker characteristics—years of previous work experience and major of college degree—predicted early departure. Two measures of organizational influences during the transition from training to casework were significant predictors of early departure: (1) caseload size the first week after training and (2) role ambiguity. These findings suggest that organizational attention to the orientation and socialization of newly hired child welfare professionals are likely to be instrumental to preventing early turnover.

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.

The Rural Ideal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Birk
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
The United States ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Dependent Children ◽  
Farm Life ◽  
American Mythology ◽  
Welfare Workers ◽  
The Prestige ◽  
The Way

This chapter examines how the rural ideal, or the beliefs about the prestige of farm homes and families, developed in the United States and how it in turn influenced the placement of dependent children. It first considers how the American mythology that glorified agriculturalists gave rise to the notion that any farm was better for a child than an institution. It then shows how the Midwest came to be seen as a popular place for farm placements onto farms, as well as the best representation of the farm environment that reformers and placers sought to give children. It also explores how the reliance on the Midwest for placement homes began and paved the way for children to be sent to farms in need of laborers. Finally, it discusses the host of problems confronting farming in the Midwest that nonetheless did not deter child welfare workers from believing that farm life still represented the American ideal.

scholarly journals Child Protective Service Referrals Involving Exposure to Domestic Violence: Prevalence, Associated Maltreatment Types, and Likelihood of Formal Case Openings

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan G. Victor ◽  
Colleen Henry ◽  
Terri Ticknor Gilbert ◽  
Joseph P. Ryan ◽  
Brian E. Perron
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
The United States ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Protective Service ◽  
Exposure To Domestic Violence ◽  
Formal Case ◽  
Welfare Workers

Childhood exposure to domestic violence (CEDV) is widely understood as potentially harmful to children. Accordingly, many child welfare systems in the United States construe CEDV as maltreatment when the exposure results in harm or threatened harm to the child. The purpose of the current study was to investigate substantiated child welfare referrals directly related to CEDV to better understand the prevalence and patterns of CEDV-related maltreatment and how child welfare workers respond under the “harm or threatened harm” standard. Data were drawn from 23,704 substantiated referrals between 2009 and 2013 in a large Midwestern child welfare system. Approximately 20% of substantiated referrals were CEDV related. A plurality of CEDV-related referrals included both a male caregiver and female caregiver who were co-substantiated for maltreatment. The most common maltreatment types substantiated for these referrals were neglect based rather than abuse based, and just under a quarter (23%) of CEDV-related referrals were formally opened for services. Referrals involving co-occurring substance abuse were most likely to be opened for services based on predicted probabilities derived from multilevel modeling. Implications for policy and practice are considered.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on child welfare-involved families: Implications for parent–child reunification and child welfare professionals

2021 ◽  
pp. 251610322110452
Author(s):  
Abbie E. Goldberg ◽  
David Brodzinsky ◽  
Jacqueline Singer ◽  
Patience Crozier
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Child Welfare Professionals ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Virtual Visits ◽  
Welfare Workers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Parent Child

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children and parents involved in the child welfare system and the professionals working with these families. Using survey data collected August–September of 2020, this mixed-methods study examined the perspectives of 196 child welfare-involved professionals (77 attorneys, 99 caseworkers, and 20 therapists) in the United States about the impact of COVID-19 on parents of origin, children, foster parents, and child welfare professionals. Particular attention was paid to the implications of COVID-19 and associated challenges for parent–child contact and reunification. With respect to professional stresses, more than half of participants worried about their own personal safety and health amidst COVID-19, and more than three-quarters expressed concerns about the safety and well-being of child welfare-involved families. Participants, especially attorneys, expressed concerns about parent–child contact and disruptions to reunification. In-person parent–child visits had all but ceased during the early part of the pandemic, and participants identified barriers to effective virtual visits, including lack of foster parent oversight, technology issues, and children’s developmental stage and/or lack of engagement. Attorneys were especially critical of the cessation of in-person visits and viewed this as a serious threat to child-parent bonds and reunification. Participants, especially child welfare workers, voiced concerns about children’s mental health and educational outcomes amidst the pandemic. Findings have implications for attorneys, child welfare workers, and other practitioners who directly and indirectly interface with child welfare-involved families.

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.

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