Protective Service Workers Research Articles

Associations between child protective services workers’ attitudes toward kinship foster care placement, sociodemographic characteristics, and job characteristics

ABSTRACT When necessary to separate children from their parents, placing a child with kin leads to better outcomes. Child Protective Services (CPS) staff attitudes toward kinship foster care placements are an understudied factor that may influence decision-making and vary based on staff characteristics. Using February 2023 survey data from 2,861 CPS staff and multivariate linear regression analyses, we assessed associations between staff’s sociodemographic and occupational characteristics and attitudes toward kinship placement. Gender, race, position, work unit, and employment duration with CPS were significantly associated with staff attitudes. Understanding how staff view kinship placement is an important step toward removing barriers to its use.

Prevalence of COVID-19 and Long COVID by industry and occupation: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2022.

Workers in healthcare and other essential occupations had elevated risks for COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic. No survey of U.S. workers to date has comprehensively assessed the prevalence of both COVID-19 and Long COVID across industries and occupations (I&O) at a detailed level. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data for 2022 from 39 states, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were used to estimate prevalence of self-reported history of COVID-19 and Long COVID, as well as the prevalence of Long COVID among those reporting prior COVID-19, by broad and detailed I&O. Adjusted prevalence ratios were used to compare outcome prevalence in each I&O to prevalence among all other workers combined. By broad I&O, workers in healthcare, protective services, and education had elevated prevalences of COVID-19. The prevalence of Long COVID was elevated in healthcare and protective service but not education workers. Detailed I&O with significantly elevated prevalences of COVID-19 but not Long COVID included Dairy Product Manufacturing industry workers and subsets of mining workers. Both COVID-19 and Long COVID were elevated among bartenders/drinking places and personal care and appearance workers. The prevalence of Long COVID was elevated among farmworkers who reported having had COVID-19. Industries and occupations with elevated levels of COVID-19 or Long COVID in this study may warrant increased measures to prevent transmission of airborne respiratory viruses. Accommodations are a key component for supporting workers in all workplaces. This new information about the distribution of Long COVID by I&O suggests where employer understanding and implementation of tailored workplace supports and accommodations are most needed to support continued employment of affected workers.

Client Violence and Emotional Health Among Child Protection Services Workers

Client Violence and Emotional Health Among Child Protection Services Workers

Trajectories and Predictors of Client Violence Among Child Protection Services Workers.

This study used social dominance theory and the Jobs Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to: (1) examine child protective services (CPS) workers' trajectories of client violence, including yelling, threats, and physical violence over job tenure; and (2) assess how demographic characteristics and job attributes contributed to the trajectories. Using data from a longitudinal study of newly-hired CPS workers (n = 837-859 depending on outcome), we examined trajectories of client violence from 6 months to 3.5 years. Multi-level mixed effect logistic regression was used to examine how demographic variables and time-lagged job attribute predictors (e.g., caseload characteristics, time pressure, role demands) contributed to the occurrence of client violence over time. Over the study period, the experience of being yelled at declined from 80% to 64%. Being threatened declined from nearly 48% to nearly 39%, while physical violence did not change. Younger and White workers as well as women generally experienced higher rates of non-physical violence. Caseload difficulty, role demands, and time pressure related to higher rates of non-physical violence, while organizational supports were not significant. Physical violence occurred sporadically; time pressure was the only significant variable. The influence of job attributes on each form of violence did not change over time. The high rates of non-physical violence, particularly during early tenure, suggest the need for providing vulnerable workers the skills to assess for and manage client violence. When violence occurs, developing responsive protocols for CPS workers at all levels can nourish a culture of safety thereby reducing future incidents.

How Do Child Protective Service (CPS) Policies Keep Employees Safe: ACaseworker’s Perspective

Child Protective Service (CPS) workers experience workplace violence at the hands of their clients. Some of these incidents have led to severe injuries and fatalities. Legislation has been created to maintain workplace safety of employees in service- related fields; however, these policies have not extended into specific laws for CPS workers. Using grounded theory, this qualitative study examined the effectiveness of safety measures from the perspective of current and former CPS workers. A total of 10 former and current CPS workers were interviewed individually. This study found that workers believe increased legislation, funding, and training are needed to increase the safety of CPS workers as they investigate alleged child abuse and neglect cases. Legislative-related responses included police protections, armed self-defense, and a mandatory buddy system policy. Funding-related responses included hazardous duty pay, resources for families, employing more staff, and mental health services for CPS workers. Training-related responses included increased training for police officers and CPS workers.

International researchers and child protection service workers beliefs about child sexual abuse disclosure and statement validity

International researchers and child protection service workers beliefs about child sexual abuse disclosure and statement validity

Parental occupations at birth and risk of adult testicular germ cell tumors in offspring: a French nationwide case-control study.

Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) are the most frequent cancer in young men in developed countries. Parental occupational exposures during early-life periods are suspected to increase TGCT risk. The objective was to estimate the association between parental occupations at birth and adult TGCT. A case-control study was conducted, including 454 TGCT cases aged 18-45 from 20 French university hospitals, matched to 670 controls based on region and year of birth. Data collected from participants included parental jobs at birth coded according to the International Standard Classification of Occupation-1968 and the French nomenclature of activities-1999. Odds ratios (OR) for TGCT and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression, adjusting for TGCT risk factors. Paternal jobs at birth as service workers (OR = 1.98, CI 1.18-3.30), protective service workers (OR = 2.40, CI 1.20-4.81), transport equipment operators (OR = 1.96, CI 1.14-3.37), specialized farmers (OR = 2.66, CI 1.03-6.90), and maternal jobs as secondary education teachers (OR = 2.27, CI 1.09-4.76) or in secondary education (OR = 2.35, CI 1.13-4.88) were significantly associated with adult TGCT. The risk of seminoma was increased for the above-mentioned paternal jobs and that of non-seminomas for public administration and defence; compulsory social security (OR = 1.99, CI 1.09-3.65); general, economic, and social administration (OR = 3.21, CI 1.23-8.39) for fathers; and secondary education teacher (OR = 4.67, CI 1.87-11.67) and secondary education (OR = 3.50, CI 1.36-9.01) for mothers. Some paternal jobs, such as service workers, transport equipment operators, or specialized farmers, and maternal jobs in secondary education seem to be associated with an increased risk of TGCT with specific features depending on the histological type. These data allow hypotheses to be put forward for further studies as to the involvement of occupational exposures in the risk of developing TGCT, such as exposure to pesticides, solvents, or heavy metals.

“Social Workers Should Be Required to Watch this Episode” : Social Media Perceptions of Television Portrayals of Fictional CPS Workers

Child Protective Services (CPS) workers appear in television plotlines across every fiction genre, and these depictions are often quite unfavourable. Customer engagement behaviours (CEBs), or what viewers say in online forums or on social media influence how other viewers perceive CPS workers. This interconnectivity is examined here through the framework of CEBs and Social TV using case studies from four popular programs: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), Shameless, Law and Order: SVU (SVU), and The Sandman. These case studies were compared for accuracy against observations given by a former Child Protective Investigator, whose feedback indicated that the realistic programs (SVU and Shameless), while being overly dramatised, had more authentic and balanced CPS portrayals than the fantasy programs (BtVS and The Sandman). Common themes from the audience in the CEBs are: CPS workers are overworked, underpaid, and too bureaucratic; greed motivates some families to foster or adopt children; and that the system of protective services is broken.

The role of occupation in SARS-CoV-2 infection within a Brazilian municipality: A test-negative case-control study.

To investigate the association between occupation and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections within a Brazilian municipality. In this test-negative study, cases and controls were randomly selected among individuals aged 18-65 years that were registered in a primary health care program in São Caetano do Sul, Brazil. Those who had collected samples for RT-PCR testing between April 2020 and May 2021 were randomly selected to compose the case (positive for SARS-CoV-2) and control (negative for SARS-CoV-2) groups, frequency-matched by sex, age group, and month of sample collection. Complementary data were collected through phone interviews. We estimated the residual effect of occupation on SARS-CoV-2 infection using multiple conditional logistic regression models incrementally adjusted for confounding variables. 1724 cases and 1741 controls who reported being at work at the time of RT-PCR collection were included. Cases were mainly females (52.9%), Whites/Asians (73.3%), and unvaccinated against COVID-19 (46.6%). Compared to other university-level professionals, the highest odds of having COVID-19 were found for workers in police and protective services (odds ratio [OR] 2.21; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27-3.84), healthcare and caregiving (OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.34-2.68), and food retail and production (OR 1.88; 95% CI = 1.14-3.11), after adjustment for age, sex, education, means of transport, household crowding, and COVID-19 vaccination. Occupation played an important role in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Food retail and production, health care and caregiving, and police and protective services showed the highest odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Exploring the Drivers of Child Maltreatment Under- and Overreporting: A Qualitative Study

Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a complex issue that is subject to both under- and overreporting; yet, research into the underlying neighborhood-level drivers of these practices remains limited. The current study gathered perspectives from 30 child protective service (CPS) workers and agency leaders in Southern California neighborhoods to identify perceptions of social and contextual neighborhood factors that might influence over- and underreporting of CAN. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach, which revealed five themes: (a) neighborhood conflict, (b) neighborhood fear and mistrust, (c) neighborhood norms, (d) poor CAN reporting knowledge, and (e) mandated reporters’ discretion. These themes highlight the potential impact of neighborhood contexts and social dynamics on CAN reporting practices, emphasizing the need for prevention and early intervention neighborhood-level initiatives that improve CPS relationships within their local community.

Occupational risks for infection with influenza A and B: a national case–control study covering 1 July 2006–31 December 2019

ObjectivesWe investigated whether crowded workplaces, sharing surfaces and exposure to infections were factors associated with a positive test for influenza virus.MethodsWe studied 11 300 cases with a positive test for...

Evaluating Child Interviews Conducted by Child Protective Services Workers and Police Investigators

Abstract High-quality interviews that follow best-practice guidelines are the best means available to frontline child protective service (CPS) workers and specially trained police officers to investigate and detect abuse and maltreatment. In Norway, the CPS and police are trained in the same interview method. In the current quantitative study, we investigate sixty-five interviews conducted by the CPS of children ages 4–8 years and seventy-two interviews conducted by the police of children ages 3–6 years. Our analysis shows that the CPS workers presented more open-ended invitations and fewer suggestive questions than the police officers. However, the CPS also asked more option-posing questions. Still, this finding may indicate that CPS workers come closer than police officers to follow best practice guidelines when they conduct child interviews. It should be noted that the police are also trained in an extended interview method, unlike the CPS workers. The number of open-ended invitations was sparse in both samples. Differences in the span of children’s ages in the two samples and different legal frameworks may have affected the findings. Implications for interview training are discussed.

The CPS Workers' Child Removal Decision in Cases of Domestic and Witnessed Violence.

This study aimed to explore maternal and paternal risks and protective factors that may influence the Child Protection Service (CPS) workers' child removal decision in case of domestic and witnessed violence. In all, 218 case reports of Italian CPSs were retrospectively analyzed through the Protocol of Risk and Protective Factors. The sample was then split up into two groups on the basis of the CPS professionals' placement decision after the investigation (child removal decision versus parents support and monitoring intervention). Two statistical approaches were used to identify the patterns of risk and protective factors associated with maternal and paternal assessments: logistic regression models and decision tree analysis. Results showed that mothers who are victims of Intimate Partner Violence experienced the child removal in about half of the cases, while fathers showed a higher removal rate. Differences emerged between mothers' and fathers' risk profiles, suggesting that workers attributed a different weight to some factors depending on whether they concerned the mother or the father. Only the proximal risk factor poor empathy skills was significant for both mothers and fathers. For the mothers' group, one of the most important factors was the presence of direct forms of child maltreatment in addition to witnessed violence, while for fathers' group the drug abuse emerged a crucial relevant proximal risk factor.

Occupations Associated With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection and Vaccination, US Blood Donors, May 2021-December 2021.

There are limited data on the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the United States by occupation. We identified occupations at higher risk for prior SARS-CoV-2 infection as defined by the presence of infection-induced antibodies among US blood donors. Using a nested case-control study design, blood donors during May-December 2021 with anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) testing were sent an electronic survey on employment status, vaccination, and occupation. The association between previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and occupation-specific in-person work was estimated using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for sex, age, month of donation, race and ethnicity, education, vaccination, and telework. Among 85 986 included survey respondents, 9504 (11.1%) were anti-N reactive. Healthcare support (20.3%), protective service (19.9%), and food preparation and serving related occupations (19.7%) had the highest proportion of prior infection. After adjustment, prior SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with healthcare practitioners (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.74-2.54) and healthcare support (aOR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.39-2.40) occupations compared with computer and mathematical occupations as the referent group. Lack of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination (aOR, 16.13; 95% CI, 15.01-17.34) and never teleworking (aOR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.05-1.30) were also independently associated with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Construction and extraction occupations had the highest proportion of unvaccinated workers (30.5%). Workers in healthcare, protective services, and food preparation had the highest prevalence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Occupational risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection remained after adjusting for vaccination, telework, and demographic factors. These findings underscore the need for mitigation measures and personal protection in healthcare settings and other workplaces.

Measuring Work-related Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Comparison of COVID-19 Incidence by Occupation and Industry-Wisconsin, September 2020 to May 2021.

BackgroundWork-related exposures play an important role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission, yet few studies have measured the risk of COVID-19 across occupations and industries.MethodsDuring September 2020 – May 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services collected occupation and industry data as part of routine COVID-19 case investigations. Adults aged 18-64 years with confirmed or probable COVID-19 in Wisconsin were assigned standardized occupation and industry codes. Cumulative incidence rates were weighted for non-response and calculated using full-time equivalent (FTE) workforce denominators from the 2020 American Community Survey.ResultsAn estimated 11.6% of workers (347,013 of 2.98 million) in Wisconsin, ages 18-64 years, had COVID-19 from September 2020 to May 2021. The highest incidence by occupation (per 100 full-time equivalents) occurred among personal care and services workers (22.4), healthcare practitioners and support staff (20.7), and protective services workers (20.7). High risk sub-groups included nursing assistants and personal care aides (28.8), childcare workers (25.8), food and beverage service workers (25.3), personal appearance workers (24.4), and law enforcement workers (24.1). By industry, incidence was highest in healthcare (18.6); the highest risk sub-sectors were nursing care facilities (30.5) and warehousing (28.5).ConclusionsThis analysis represents one of the most complete examinations to date of COVID-19 incidence by occupation and industry. Our approach demonstrates the value of standardized occupational data collection by public health, and may be a model for improved occupational surveillance elsewhere. Workers at higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure may benefit from targeted workplace COVID-19 vaccination and mitigation efforts.

Understanding the Effects of Client Violence on the Health of Child Protection Services Workers

Understanding the Effects of Client Violence on the Health of Child Protection Services Workers

Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Vicarious Resilience in Bolivian Protective Family Services Workers

Vicarious resilience (VR) is defined as the positive effects caregivers experience within their personal lives, their work lives, and within their worldview as a whole, that come from witnessing the resilience that clients demonstrate in facing their traumatic experiences. This research study is a quasi-experimental pilot study about how solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) influences the vicarious resilience of family protective system (SLIM) workers in Bolivia. The Vicarious Resilience Inventory (VRI) was administered in a pretest/posttest design for an experimental group (applying SFBT) and a control group (training as usual). Both groups experienced an increase in vicarious resilience, but the SFBT group experienced statistically significant improvements on three subscales of the VRI; (a) resourcefulness, (b) recognition of spirituality, and (c) self-awareness. Two other subscales of the VRI neared statistical significance for the SFBT group, client inspired hope and consciousness of power. It is anticipated that with a larger sample size these subscales would also have been statistically significant. Additional research is needed to generalize the results of this pilot study to a larger population.

Relation between occupation, gender dominance in the occupation and workplace and suicide in Sweden: a longitudinal study

ObjectivesTo describe the association between occupations and suicide, and to explore the effect of gender dominance in the occupation and in the workplace on the risk of suicide.DesignRegister-based cohort study.Participants3...

Synthesizing a Talking Child Avatar to Train Interviewers Working with Maltreated Children

When responding to allegations of child sexual, physical, and psychological abuse, Child Protection Service (CPS) workers and police personnel need to elicit detailed and accurate accounts of the abuse to assist in decision-making and prosecution. Current research emphasizes the importance of the interviewer’s ability to follow empirically based guidelines. In doing so, it is essential to implement economical and scientific training courses for interviewers. Due to recent advances in artificial intelligence, we propose to generate a realistic and interactive child avatar, aiming to mimic a child. Our ongoing research involves the integration and interaction of different components with each other, including how to handle the language, auditory, emotional, and visual components of the avatar. This paper presents three subjective studies that investigate and compare various state-of-the-art methods for implementing multiple aspects of the child avatar. The first user study evaluates the whole system and shows that the system is well received by the expert and highlights the importance of its realism. The second user study investigates the emotional component and how it can be integrated with video and audio, and the third user study investigates realism in the auditory and visual components of the avatar created by different methods. The insights and feedback from these studies have contributed to the refined and improved architecture of the child avatar system which we present here.

Use of outpatient and inpatient health care services by occupation\u2014a register study of employees in Oulu, Finland

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to examine how the use of outpatient and inpatient health services differs by occupational groups, and whether the differences are explained by sociodemographic factors and health status.MethodsWe used register-based data on 25–64-year-old employees living in the city of Oulu, Finland, in 2018 (N = 61,848). Use of outpatient health care services (public, private and occupational health care) among men and women was analysed with negative binomial regression models, and use of inpatient health care with logistic regression models, using two occupational classifications: occupational group (1-digit level) and more detailed occupation (2-digit level). Adjusted covariates were age, education, income, marital status, special reimbursement entitlements for medicines, and sickness absence.ResultsExamined at the level of larger occupational groups, the use of outpatient and inpatient health care was less common than average among managers, professionals and skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers; in women also among craft and related trades workers. Controlling for covariates explained only part of the differences, more among women than among men. Analysed at the level of more detailed occupations, the adjusted use of outpatient and inpatient care was more common among health associate professionals and stationary plant and machine operators, both among men and women. Furthermore, the use of outpatient care was common among male personal care workers, protective service workers and metal, machinery and related trades workers as well as among labourers in mining, construction, manufacturing and transport, and female customer services clerks and sales workers.ConclusionThe use of health care services differs by occupation, and the differences are not fully explained by sociodemographic factors and health status. High occupational risks, attitudes and knowledge may explain the more frequent use of health services. Furthermore, explanations may be sought from lack of access to occupational health care or healthier working conditions and behavior.