New Workers’ Experiences in Child Welfare

Abstract

ABSTRACT How as a new worker could I have become better prepared by my education for child welfare work? What have other new workers experienced through their education that helped prepare them or hindered them? Lastly what are some creative ideas to better prepare new workers, specifically social workers, for the reality of working in child protection? These questions formed the focus of this study, which includes a literature review on new worker readiness and findings from qualitative interviews with new workers which utilizes an insider perspective towards data analysis. The participants in this research had varying experiences as new workers, however similar themes emerged. New workers struggled with power and experienced feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. New workers had difficulty transferring theoretical knowledge from their education into practice and did not feel prepared for the reality of child welfare work. Participants also described how they internalized conflict and the stress of the job. They suggested ways of coping including supportive supervision and a collaborative team environment. Increasing new workers’ confidence was also seen as key to prepare new workers for a child protection position. This research was conducted through a partnership with my fellow MSW researcher Julie Huynh-Lauesen, who coauthored the literature review and conducted a similar, yet separate research study with child welfare managers. Both studies were then compared and contrasted for discussion and future purposes.