Exploring Organizational Learning, Risk, and Psychological Safety: Perspectives of Child Welfare Senior Leaders in Canada

ABSTRACT

Child welfare workers and organizations are the direct link between legislation and families, thus, key to service effectiveness. However, little is known about the role of organizational learning, risk tolerance, and psychological safety, especially in Canadian child welfare. The aim of this study is to identify senior leaders’ perceptions of these constructs in the context of child welfare service delivery and family outcomes. This qualitative study included interviews with senior leaders (n= 8) from separate child welfare organizations in Ontario. Findings suggest that participants are constantly trying to address organizational learning through multiple strategies. Further, risk and risk tolerance are concepts at the core of child welfare work, but rarely explicitly discussed. Psychological safety is not embedded in discussions similar to learning and risk. Research exploring workers and supervisors’ perspectives and research that examines the link between these concepts and family outcomes are required.

KEYWORDS:

• Child welfare organizations
• organizational learning
• risk tolerance

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [500351].

Notes on contributors

Kristen Lwin

Dr. Kristen Lwin is an Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor.

Barbara Fallon

Dr. Barbara Fallon is a Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto and holds a Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare.

Emmaline Houston

Emmaline Houston is PhD Candidate at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto

Rachel Wilson

Rachel Wilson is a MSW student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto has a chair on Child Maltreatment Epidemiology at University of Ulm’s department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, Germany, and is staff at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, School of Social Work, Switzerland. He is an Associate Editor of Child Abuse and Neglect, the leading international journal in the area of child protection.

John Fluke

John Fluke, PhD, is Associate Director for Systems Research and Evaluation/Professor at University of Colorado Denver

Andreas Jud

Dr. Andreas Jud is a Professor at Ulm University Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Andreas Jud, PhD, has a chair on Child Maltreatment Epidemiology at University of Ulm’s department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, Germany, and is staff at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, School of Social Work, Switzerland.

Nico Trocmé

Dr. Nico Trocmé, Philip Fisher Chair in Social Work, is the Director of the McGill University School of Social Work