Child welfare social workers’ working conditions: Does leadership matter?

Child welfare agencies in many rich countries are having difficulty recruiting and retaining social workers. However, these problems are not unique to child welfare: retention problems have also been widely reported in both mental and general health facilities. In this paper, we compare the perceptions of work and working conditions held by child welfare social workers with the perceptions held by other professional human service workers in the public sector in Sweden. Do the social workers' experiences of their tasks or organizational conditions differ from the other groups, and, if so, how? Are workforce problems particularly acute in child welfare, or do social workers in this field share more or less common problems with other human service professionals? We found that although social workers in general, and child welfare social workers in particular, made positive assessments of some dimensions of their working lives, social work was unusually demanding among human service professions on several measures of workload, complexity of tasks and quality of management. The strains of the job that social workers expressed call upon employers to promote working conditions that offer more support, and to recognize and value social workers for their work.

The aim of the study was to investigate if the working conditions of child welfare social workers in one municipality would be improved after the implementation of three initiatives: weekly small group supervision for newly educated social workers, team-strengthening activities and training for the team leaders. Five teams consisting of thirty-six child welfare social workers and five team leaders participated. At project start and after the two project years (2017–2018), the social workers’ perception of their working conditions was measured by a questionnaire (QPS Nordic). After the two years the social workers rated several aspects of their working conditions more positively. They were more satisfied with the organisational climate and leadership and with the collaboration in their work group. Turnover, which had been high for many years, had almost stopped and vacancies were now filled. The social workers were now more often satisfied with the quality of their work. Interestingly, these positive changes had occurred at the same time as the social workers now reported higher demands and more often experienced role conflicts. The overall results of this small-scale study indicate that working conditions of social workers can be improved after the implementation of rather modest means.

Transnational social workers in statutory child welfare: A scoping review

This article aims to present and discuss results from team-strengthening activities carried out in an implementation study among child welfare social workers. The study builds on previous research by one of the authors, on working conditions among social workers in child welfare, where survey data was collected in the same workplaces on three occasions over a period of 15 years. Previous results showed that workgroups that stood out from others by describing greater job satisfaction and lower intention to leave the workplace were characterised by a positive and cohesive climate in the team and a good relationship to the manager. Based on these results, an implementation study was designed consisting of three interventions: team-strengthening activities, leadership training and weekly small team supervision for social workers new to the profession. These interventions were offered to child welfare social workers at a workplace that had suffered from high turnover and many vacancies. Questionnaires and team interviews showed that the situation at the workplace in several aspects had improved after the two project years. Also, turnover had almost stopped and vacancies were filled. In the present article the contents of team-strengthening activities and the social workers’ assessments of them are presented and discussed.

This article addresses a topic that has not previously been researched in Sweden, i.e. factors associated with the intention of social workers to leave their place of work. A comprehensive questionnaire was distributed to 309 social workers in child welfare in the County of Stockholm (drop-out rate: 3 per cent). The study comprised a total of forty-two workgroups. All the social workers handling referrals and investigating the situation of children and youth in these areas were included. One of the most striking results was that although 54 per cent of the social workers had been at their current workplace for two years or less, 48 per cent intended to leave their jobs. A logistic regression analysis showed that the variable of greatest importance for the intention to leave the workplace was lack of human resource orientation within the organization, i.e. the extent to which personnel are rewarded for a job well done, feel well taken care of and where management is interested in their health and well-being. A final conclusion of this study is that when measuring the impact of different aspects of work tasks compared with some aspects of organizational culture, it becomes clear that the latter seem to be most important in this respect.

The study aimed to investigate how working conditions, intention to leave and self-rated health among Swedish social workers in child welfare have developed over the course of fifteen years. In 2003 (n = 309), 2014 (n = 313) and 2018 (n = 305), the same questionnaire was distributed to social workers who were working with the same tasks in the same geographical areas. The results show that the social workers in 2018 overall rate their working conditions as better than they did in 2014, and in most respects also better than in 2003. The most salient improvements are that work demands in 2018 are described as significantly lower than in earlier years, and organisational climate, group work and support from their superior and co-workers are seen more positively. Despite these positive developments, the changes in how the social workers rate their health and to what extent they intend to leave the workplace were minor. Also, how the social workers rated positive challenges in work and the extent to which they perceived their work as meaningful or felt that their skills and knowledge often were useful in their work had deteriorated. Possible factors as the influence of New Public Management and increased use of manuals and forms are discussed.

The study aimed to investigate how child welfare social workers assessed the leadership of their first-line managers over a period of fifteen years and to examine whether the assessments have changed over time. More specifically, the analysis focused on the extent to which social workers perceive the leadership of their first-line managers to be empowering, supportive and fair. Data were collected in the years 2003 (n = 293), 2014 (n = 300) and 2018 (n = 309) using the same questionnaire, mainly based on QPS Nordic, which was distributed to social workers working with investigations of children and youth. The results show that the social workers assessed all measured aspects of their first-line managers’ leadership as better in 2014 compared to 2003 and significantly better in 2018 compared to 2003. In light of previous studies showing that child welfare managers experience less optimal conditions for their leadership, the results are surprising. How is it possible that the first-line managers, despite their own descriptions of a more difficult leadership situation, are seen as more supportive, empowering and fair in their leadership from the social workers’ perspective? Possible explanations for the social workers’ better assessments over the years, such as specialisation, are discussed.

ABSTRACTWork-related mental distress and its impact on employees’ working life is a mounting issue among Finnish social workers. This article focuses on identifying the factors associated with child welfare social workers’ occupational well-being. The occupational well-being of Finnish child welfare social workers (N = 364) and social workers whose duties do not include child protection work (N = 524) was explored and compared with each other using t-test statistics and logistic regression analysis. The data, collected in 2014/2015, were obtained from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study on work-related well-being among Finnish public sector employees. A multi-dimensional and holistic approach to occupational well-being was used as the outline for the analysis and comparison of the two groups. Child protection social workers reported higher levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress than social workers without child protection duties. Despite these burdens, both groups showed a similar level of general health, compassion satisfaction and overall occupational well-being. Individual and organizational factors associated with high occupational well-being were identified. Supervision was found to be an important supporting element. This study identified multiple determinants related to social workers’ occupational well-being, comprising positive and negative elements with regard to organizational and individual factors.

PurposeChild welfare services (CWSs) globally continue to absorb high rates of children living with or suspected of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Such high prevalence rates render CWS with major ethical and moral dilemmas of meeting complex needs. Currently, many jurisdictions are challenged by diagnostic capacity and cost implications of formal FASD diagnosis. This paper aims to recommend a screening protocol to address management gap between FASD initial presentation and formal diagnosis.Design/methodology/approachThis is a follow-up paper from a grounded-theory study of a sample (N = 18) of child welfare social workers (CWSWs), allied health professionals and foster parents. A stepwise protocol was developed through systematical interpretation of the final data.FindingsThe application of a five-step screening protocol would greatly support CWSW in meeting the needs of children with suspected FASD. This CWSWs-led assessment model incorporates a clinical evaluation to exclude neurodevelopmental conditions caused by known genetic disorders, followed by behavioral and neurocognitive psychosocial assessments.Research limitations/implicationsThis study had several limitations. Firstly, as a specific social work-based sample, it is not necessarily representative of the wider population of social workers globally due to different cultural responses to FASD in CWSs. The transferability of findings will have to be considered due to cultural variations concerning FASD.Practical implicationsBy offering a management and nonlabeling approach, this five-step screening protocol offers a delineated pathway for CWSW and addresses the major professional frustrations while seeking to plan safe care for a child suspected of having FASD.Social implicationsThe research offers a pragmatic low-cost to society to alleviate the mounting social and monetary implications of FASD. A large percentage of children impacted by prenatal alcohol exposure do not qualify under formal clinical diagnostic guidelines. Leaving these children without intervention is problematic. The recommendation of this study addresses this critical gap in services. The primary aim is to alleviate the burden on this cohort of vulnerable children by offering nonlabeling neurodevelopmental screening.Originality/valueThe direct implications of FASD and how it impacts CWS are well documented. However, few studies focus on the critical interface of FASD and the role of CWSW responsible for planning their safe care. This paper offers a novel pragmatic and functional multistep protocol to aid CWSW in this complex area of practice.

This article responds to Do Social Workers Make Better Child Welfare Workers than Non-Social Workers? by Dr. Robin E. Perry. The article articulates National Association of Social Workers'support for a professional social work labor force to serve children and their families and for continued federal investment in the training of these workers. Professionally educated and trained social workers in child welfare agencies have good retention rates, report high satisfaction with their work, and have a solid understanding of the child welfare service arena. Children and families in crisis deserve access to the best resources available, including professional social workers.

The working conditions in which many social workers practice their profession make it very likely that they will experience high strain and burnout and low engagement. Previous research has identified different risk and protective factors of burnout and engagement. This article attempts to: (i) analyse the relationship of burnout and engagement with two job demands (role conflict and role clarity) and three personal resources (recovery experiences, problem-focused coping, and emotion-focused coping); (ii) examine whether these personal resources moderate the association of job demands with burnout and engagement. Participants were 448 Spanish graduate social workers. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that burnout was positively predicted by role conflict and emotion-focused coping, and was negatively predicted by role clarity and recovery experiences; overall, the inverse pattern of results was found for engagement. Furthermore, problem-focused coping and recovery moderated the association of role conflict with burnout; problem-focused coping also moderated the relationship of role conflict with engagement. These findings support individual and organisational interventions that enhance the application of personal resources and the reduction of job demands to lessen burnout and increase engagement.

Child welfare social work is emotive and demanding work, requiring highly skilled and resilient practitioners. In a context of austerity, increased public scrutiny and accountability, defensive practice has been identified as a feature of professional practice. However, little is known about the processes through which social workers develop resilience or come to adopt a defensive stance in managing the demands of their work. This article focuses on professional storytelling among child welfare social workers. It examines how social workers construct their professional role through team talk and the implications of this for our understanding of professional resilience and defensiveness. Drawing on an in-depth narrative analysis of focus groups with social work teams, eight story types are identified in social workers’ talk about their work: emotional container stories, solidarity stories, professional epiphanies, professional affirmation stories, partnership stories, parables of persistence, tales of courageous practice and cautionary tales. Each story type foregrounds a particular aspect of child welfare practice, containing a moral about social work with vulnerable children and families. The article concludes with the implications of these stories for our understanding of both resilience and the pull towards defensiveness in child welfare social work.

This research is a similar study to Gold’s (1998) study on the promotion of physical and mental health of mainstream female social workers in child welfare. Six First Nations women Child and Family Service (CFS) Social Workers (FNWCFSSW’s) who work in First Nations agencies gathered with me to share individual and collective stories about our CFS experiences. First Nations women and I discussed the impacts of our work on our holistic health, how we coped with the work, and strategies to deal with the issues that we face. This study outlines the research process that we engaged in, and, essentially weaves together the challenges, resilience, innovations, and unique experiences of First Nations women CFS Social Workers in a First Nations setting under a delegated authority model. As a result of these discussions five major themes were identified. The five themes that emerged from this study include the stress of dual accountability, the stresses of unrealistic expectations and multiple roles, the emotional costs and benefits of the intensity of the relationships, the fact that meaningful work gives strength and how the women coped and maintained their holistic health. This study reveals the important need for future participatory research to be conducted with FNWCFSSW and First Nations peoples. Ultimately, this paper speaks to the importance of changing the nature of along-term colonial relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples within the child welfare system and in dominant mainstream research processes.

Burnout among child welfare social workers was a critical issue, manifesting as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, significantly impairing their ability to provide effective support to vulnerable populations. While burnout is a well-explored phenomenon globally, limited attention has been given to its specific manifestations in the Malaysian context. In Penang, the Department of Social Welfare faced the dual challenge of high caseloads and limited resources, which exacerbated the risk of burnout among its social workers. This study aimed to explore the self-care practices and coping strategies employed by child welfare social workers in Penang to mitigate burnout. By identifying effective methods to maintain mental health and professional resilience, this research sought to inform policy and practice, fostering a supportive environment that enhanced the well-being and efficacy of social workers. Through comprehensive analysis and first-hand insights, this study contributed to the growing body of knowledge essential for sustaining a motivated and healthy workforce in the child welfare sector.

Summary The aim of this study is to analyse attitudes towards and the utilisation of evidence-based practice among social workers in Norway. The data were collected in 2014–2015 from social workers in four Norwegian counties. The sample consists of 2060 social workers registered as members of the Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers. Findings The main findings in this study indicate that social workers in child welfare are generally less critical of evidence-based practice than those within social welfare. Higher education and knowledge about evidence-based practice are seen as predictors for less critical attitudes towards the concept. The findings further suggest that social workers who use manuals and standardised procedures are less critical of evidence-based practice. Applications Understanding social workers’ attitudes towards evidence-based practice is important in order to facilitate the best possible practices. This study emphasises the importance of increasing knowledge of evidence-based practice in the social sector, and the need to further investigate how research methods and evidence-based practice concepts are translated into practice.