Client-Perpetrated Violence Among Frontline Child Welfare Workers.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Public Health
• Criminology

Background:

• Client-perpetrated violence against child protective services (CPS) workers is prevalent and negatively impacts worker well-being, leading to physical and psychological harm.
• Existing research has not adequately captured the scope of violence experienced by CPS workers in representative samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the prevalence of client-perpetrated violence against CPS workers within the first six months of employment.
• To apply a structural inequality framework to identify CPS worker subgroups most susceptible to violence.
• To analyze the influence of individual characteristics on violence experiences.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families dataset, a longitudinal panel study.
• Analyzed data from 1,501 newly hired CPS workers.
• Examined violence prevalence (non-physical, threats, physical) and demographic/professional characteristics.

Main Results:

• High prevalence of non-physical violence (75%), threats (37%), and physical violence (2.3%) within the first six months of employment.
• Age, race, college major, and position were significantly related to violence experiences, though not uniformly supporting a structural inequality framework.
• Violence occurred frequently early in employment, highlighting the need for immediate training.

Conclusions:

• The high incidence of violence necessitates enhanced conflict and violence training for CPS workers before they manage independent caseloads.
• Implementing clear institutional definitions for different types of violence could foster a safety-focused work culture.
• Further research and policy development are required to address the disproportionate violence experienced by certain worker subgroups and prioritize overall worker safety.