Child Welfare Workers Who Experience the Death of a Child Client

Abstract

Annually, almost 2,000 children die from maltreatment; 30%–40% are known to child welfare agencies. Critics attribute these deaths to young, inexperienced, untrained workers. This study used a multi-state sample of 123 child welfare workers who had experienced a fatality to address: 1) the characteristics of workers, 2) how workers approached the case, and 3) the fallout after the fatality. Workers were in their late 30s, were well educated, and had several years of experience. They felt confident in handling the case leading up to the fatality, felt supported by coworkers, and did not use formal support. Implications for administrators are discussed.

Keywords:

• child welfare
• fatality
• risk assessment
• social work administration
• training

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Toni Chance and Sandra Hodge for their guidance and consultation on this project, and to Sean McCarthy for his work in coding the data. The author also thanks the members of the Friday Seminar at the Family Research Laboratory/Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire for comments on a previous draft of this paper. This project was funded by the Bridgewater State University Presidential Fellows Program and the Bridgewater State University Center for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship.