Child Welfare Workers' Home Visit Risks and Safety Experiences in the USA: A Qualitative Approach

Abstract

Human service providers, including child welfare workers, who routinely visit clients' homes frequently face unsafe working conditions during their home visits. Although previous studies have emphasized the importance of safety issues in helping professionals, not many studies have specifically examined home visiting concerns. The purpose of this study is to explore individual, situational, and environmental characteristics that increase workers' home visit risks. Qualitative interviews were conducted with nine child welfare workers that completed a survey as part of a larger study on retention. From qualitative interviews, child welfare workers commonly experienced verbal or physical threats initiated by clients or community members. Situational and community factors were also identified with increased risk in home visits. For many, evening home visits to see children's parents usually increased the level of risk. Visiting communities with a violent reputation, receiving little support from police or community members, and a lack of community resources in risky situations posed increased risks during home visits. Overall, the current study may provide a better understanding and incentive for the further development of safety training in educational curriculums and agencies, and legislation and state guidelines that improve the safety of helping professionals.

Experiences of Service-User Violence and Coping Strategies Employed During Social Work Service Delivery: Suggestions for Ensuring Social Workers’ Personal Safety

“…The physical, verbal and emotional attacks on social workers by service users seems to confirm the prevailing notion that service-user violence in social work seems to be "inevitable" or an "everyday, part of the job" (Enosh et al, 2012;Harris & Leather, 2012;Koritsas et al, 2010;Raczova & Lovasova, 2017;Robson et al, 2014;Shin, 2011;Winstanley & Hales, 2008). This seems to be true, especially for social workers employed in the field of child-protection services who are more frequently exposed to verbal and physical threats and abuse by service users, especially when they have to remove children in need of care and usually when service users are at their worst and experiencing severe challenges, thus making them susceptible to outbursts of frustration, anger and aggression in the process (Kim & Hopkins, 2017;Lamothe et al, 2018;Lynch, 2017). In addition, social workers who must conduct home visits, especially in unsafe communities that are often riddled with crime and violence, are more at risk of having their personal safety being compromised (Pace, 2015).…”

“…Flo's account is provided in support of this suggestion: Like Flo, various scholars call for social workers to be trained on aspects of personal safety and preventative practices, such as self-defence and de-escalation training (Kim & Hopkins, 2015;Kim & Hopkins, 2017;Newhill, 1995;Ringstad, 2005).…”

“…Various authors(Guay, Goncalves & Jarvis, 2014;Harris & Leather, 2012;Kim & Hopkins, 2017;Koritsas et al, 2010; Lamothe, Couvrette, Lebrun, Yale-Soulière, Roy,Guay & Geoffrio, 2018;Lynch, 2017;Raczova & Lovasova, 2017;Robson, Cossar & Quayle, 2014;Wacek, 2017; …”

South African Social Workers’ Lived Experiences of Client Violence

“…Enosh, Tzafrir and Gur (2013) emphasise that whenever an incident of client violence occurs, the social worker-client relationship is likely to change substantially. Based on studies that explore the short-and long-term emotional, cognitive and behavioural cumulative impacts, client violence pervades the work environment, home, family and social life of the social worker (Enosh, Tzafrir, and Gur 2013;Kim and Hopkins 2017;Pacheco, Cunha, and Duarte 2016;Yang and Kim 2015). Tzafrir, Enosh and Gur (2015, 74-75) also found that social workers frequently downplay client violence or blame themselves for lacking the skills to manage client behaviour.…”

“…Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach pain, sleep disturbances, lack of appetite and difficulty concentrating were exacerbated by the stress. Influences on physical and mental health affect overall functioning in the workplace, meaning that those affected by client violence also experienced difficulties with absenteeism, turnover intentions, and actual resignations from employment (Kim and Hopkins 2017).…”