You are not allowed to tell: organisational culture as a barrier for child protection workers seeking assistance for traumatic stress symptomology

Oates, Fiona

doi:10.1017/cha.2019.12

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 8 publications

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“…The toxic organisational culture of statutory child protection agencies is consistently cited in the literature as a barrier to the sound delivery of child protection services to vulnerable children, families and communities (Healy & Oltedal, 2010; Lewig & McLean, 2016; Lonne et al, 2013; Oates, 2019). The identification of negative organisational culture by participants as a potential barrier to successfully working towards addressing the disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in the child protection system is consistent with this literature.…”

Section: Study Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers and solutions: Australian Indigenous practitioners on addressing disproportionate representation of Indigenous Australian children known to statutory child protection

Oates

2020

AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

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The rate of Indigenous child removal in Australia has been referred to as an epidemic. With numbers predicted to increase in the near to medium future exploring alternative ways to engage Indigenous children and families is critical. This article outlines the views of Indigenous practitioners collected as part of a doctoral study exploring the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners who undertake child protection work in Australia. Practitioner narratives were elicited by way of qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews. The narratives of practitioners identify barriers in contemporary statutory child protection practices that may contribute to the disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in the statutory child protection system. Potential solutions offered by practitioners including cultural supervision for non-Indigenous practitioners are also outlined. The narratives of participants indicate that Indigenous practitioner-led policy, practice, training and programme design is critical to addressing the escalating rates of Indigenous child removal in Australia.

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Section: Study Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers and solutions: Australian Indigenous practitioners on addressing disproportionate representation of Indigenous Australian children known to statutory child protection

Oates

2020

AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Poverty is the problem – not parents: so tell me, child protection worker, how can you help?

et al. 2020

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Families who attract the attention of child protection services most often have ongoing lived experiences of poverty, gender-based domestic and family violence, problematic substance use and, sometimes, formally diagnosed mental health conditions. Without broader contextual knowledge and understanding, particularly regarding ongoing poverty, decision-making by child protection workers often leads to the removal of children, while the family’s material poverty and experiences of violence remain unaddressed. Case studies are a common tool to succinctly capture complex contexts. In this article, we make explicit, through case examples and analysis, how poverty is almost always the backdrop to the presence of worrying risk factors before and during child protection intervention. Further, we expose the existential poverty that parents live with after they lose their children into care and which invariably exacerbates material poverty. In the final section, we consider the multi-faceted organisational poverty that blights the work environment of child protection workers, and we suggest strategies for improved practice with families living in poverty.

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Social Service Worker Experiences with Direct and Indirect Violence When Engaged with Service Users

Shier

Turpin

Nicholas

et al. 2021

The British Journal of Social Work

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Social service workers’ experiences of violence from service users (client-engaged violence) in social service workplaces are serious and pervasive issues that demand responsive and effective organisational interventions. However, organisational factors and characteristics that have an effect on worker experiences of client-engaged violence are poorly defined. This study utilised a quantitative design to identify and measure aspects of the organisation that prevent client-engaged violence and support workers in building healthy and safe workplaces. Participants (n = 1,574) from various publicly administered social services departments were surveyed to assess the effect of ‘workload’ (workload quality); ‘supervisory dynamics’ (equality, involvement, support and attentiveness); ‘team dynamics’ (intrapersonal team functioning and interpersonal team functioning) and ‘workplace safety culture’ (workplace safety values) on direct and indirect experiences of client-engaged violence. Results from multivariate analysis show that workload characteristics and organisational cultural values of workplace safety had a significant effect on worker experiences of client-engaged violence. The results highlight the importance of creating organisational policies and procedures that support workers in managing workloads and promoting a culture of safety within the work setting.

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You are not allowed to tell: organisational culture as a barrier for child protection workers seeking assistance for traumatic stress symptomology

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

Barriers and solutions: Australian Indigenous practitioners on addressing disproportionate representation of Indigenous Australian children known to statutory child protection

Barriers and solutions: Australian Indigenous practitioners on addressing disproportionate representation of Indigenous Australian children known to statutory child protection

Poverty is the problem – not parents: so tell me, child protection worker, how can you help?

Social Service Worker Experiences with Direct and Indirect Violence When Engaged with Service Users

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