Taking an organizational approach to addressing secondary trauma in child welfare settings

ABSTRACT

The increasing focus on trauma-informed child welfare practice has expanded beyond children to include other stakeholders, including child welfare staff. Despite research showing high levels of trauma exposure and symptoms among child welfare staff, and the connection between secondary trauma and staff attrition, the field has lagged in developing interventions for child welfare professionals and agencies affected by secondary trauma. This paper describes efforts underway in New York City to better understand and address secondary trauma in a multi-service child welfare agency. Agency data showing the extent to which people in different roles (e.g., caseworker, supervisor) feel that secondary trauma is recognized and addressed, and findings from exit interviews with departing staff, are shared. Lessons learned include the importance of responding to secondary trauma organizationally; the value of data collection in destigmatizing secondary trauma and clarifying agency priorities; and the need to simultaneously address secondary trauma and burnout. Recommendations for future research, including better understanding the knowledge and skills that supervisors and administrators need to mitigate secondary trauma, are shared.

KEYWORDS:

• Child welfare
• workforce
• trauma
• secondary trauma
• burnout

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erika Tullberg

Erika Tullberg is an Assistant Research Professor at the NYU School of Medicine’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, where her work focuses on trauma experienced by children, parents, foster parents and staff in the child welfare system. Prior to joining the faculty at NYU, Erika worked for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, where she led a department responsible for program and policy development in the areas of domestic violence, health, mental health, and substance abuse.

Georgia Boothe

Georgia Boothe is the Vice President of Children’s Aid’s Child Welfare and Family Services Division. She oversees the organization’s work with young people who have become involved in the juvenile justice system as well as the preventive services program, which works to strengthen families that are involved in the child welfare system. She also leads a deeply experienced team of social workers and other front line staff in serving children and families with special needs. Prior to working at Children’s Aid, she was the Executive Director of Pathways to Housing NY. She holds an MSW from Columbia University and earned her undergraduate degree from Skidmore College, where she studied social work and American studies.