Compassion fatigue in child protection workers in Northeastern Ontario

Abstract

A career in the child protection sector is one of the most complex roles in the social work profession. Child protection worker (CPW) duties include accepting referrals, conducting investigations of allegations or evidence that children are experiencing abuse, and protecting children from abuse where necessary. This can include providing short- or long-term intervention with families, or ultimately removing children from their homes, where the risks are too great to be mitigated with less intrusive measures. CPWs are on-call and available 24-hours per day, 7-days per week. Due to the demanding nature of the career, CPWs often experience symptoms of compassion fatigue which can manifest in many symptoms, such as physical, emotional, and mental distress and disturbances. The aim of this qualitative research thesis was to examine the experiences of CPWs in Northeastern Ontario through individual interviews with CPW retirees. A total of 11 retirees were individually interviewed. The interviews were then transcribed and qualitatively analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Three main themes were constructed from the responses: Quality/Impact of the Work; Recruitment and Retention; and Recommendations for Improvement. This thesis describes four implications of this study: the impact on CPWs’ well-being; the importance of increased training; the necessity of clinical supervision and debriefing; as well as the significance of peer-to-peer learning. Lastly, study limitations, as well as considerations for future research, are discussed.