Culture of Safety: Using Policy to Address Traumatic Stress Among the Child Welfare Workforce

Abstract

Human services professionals from all fields may be exposed to dangerous and even traumatic experiences while fulfilling their job responsibilities. Despite the data identifying trauma exposure as a workforce problem, the literature focusing on policy and practice interventions is sparse. Using a safety culture framework, this article describes a case example of one statewide public child welfare agency that utilized innovative policies as one driver of a systemic shift toward enhanced safety culture in an attempt to mitigate the effects of trauma exposure among child welfare workers. Practice implications, next steps, and future research are discussed.