Abstract
Child welfare workers experience increased risk of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout. Despite encouragement to bolster self-care, little remains known about self-care and well-being outcomes. This study explored frequency of self-care and its relationship with STS, burnout, and compassion satisfaction by surveying 305 child welfare direct service and supervisor professionals. Participants completed the ProQol and reported frequency and types of self-care. Findings indicated frequency of self-care was associated with decreased STS and burnout, and increased compassion satisfaction. Given the prevalence of STS in child welfare, further exploration of self-care and its potential for strengthening well-being is necessary.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 110-140 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Journal | Journal of Public Child Welfare |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Funding
The work was supported by the U.S. Children’s Bureau. This study was part of the Kansas Strong for Children and Families project, which is funded by the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under grant number 90-CO-1139. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Children’s Bureau. We would also like to thank those who collaborated on this study. First, we express our gratitude to the community partners including KVC Health Systems, TFI, DCCA, Cornerstones of Care, and Saint Francis Ministries for their support in conducting this study. Second, we thank the child welfare direct service workers and supervisors who participated in this study. Lastly, we thank the coaching staff who provided the intervention initiated as a part of this study. The authors have no known conflicts of interest to report. Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under grant number 90-CO-1139.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| KVC Health Systems Inc | |
| Administration on Children, Youth, and Families | |
| Kansas Strong for Children and Families | |
| Children’s Bureau | |
| Administration for Children and Families | |
| Cornerstones of Care, and Saint Francis Ministries | |
| Turner Foundation | |
| U.S. Children's Bureau | |
| DCCA | |
| U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | 90-CO-1139 |
Keywords
- Secondary traumatic stress
- burnout
- child welfare workforce well-being
- compassion satisfaction
- self-care
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science