Voices from the frontline: Child protection workers’ perspectives on barriers to assessing risk in domestic violence cases

Abstract

Previous research has identified barriers for child protection workers in effectively intervening in domestic violence (DV) cases. The child protection sector has been criticized for placing the onus on victims to keep children safe and failing to engage perpetrators. This qualitative study examined barriers for child protection workers in assessing risk with families where DV is the primary concern. The sample included 29 key informants in the Ontario, Canada child protection sector who were interviewed on their risk assessment, risk management and safety planning practices in the context of DV. The results indicated that key informants identified barriers at the systemic (i.e., lack of collaboration with community partners), organizational (i.e., lack of written policies or procedures specific to DV), and individual (i.e., client-worker challenges, high caseload, lack of ongoing training) levels. Specific difficulties in engaging and providing intervention for perpetrators were also identified. Finally, child protection workers highlighted a diverse range of promising practices in engaging effectively with victims, perpetrators and their children. These findings emphasize the importance of community collaborations to manage risk with these cases as well as ongoing consultation with DV specialists to respond and keep families safe.