Description

Child protection workers: What they do

REBECCA O’REILLY

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Family & Community Health Research Group, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW, Australia

LAURETTA LUCK

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Family & Community Health Research Group, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW, Australia

LESLEY WILKES

Clinical Nursing Research Unit, Sydney West Area Health Service; Family & Community Health Research Group, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW, Australia

DEBRA JACKSON

Family and Community Health Research Group, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW, Australia

ABSTRACT

Child protection organisations face the challenge of ensuring provision of adequate child protection, while maintaining a stable workforce. It is essential therefore, to appreciate the daily work demands of Child Protection Workers (CPWs). This paper draws from a larger case study which aimed to investigate CPW work practices and the challenges they cause for the workers. Specifically, this paper describes what CPWs do in their daily work. A mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis was used in the study where 15 CPWs participated in both observations and interviews. The results demonstrated that while the majority of worker job tasks are client focused, the time spent by CPWs on non-therapeutic job tasks and worker actions are substantial, and the ability to multitask was revealed as a vital CPW skill. Findings suggest a need for child protection policy makers, organisations and other key stakeholders to consider implementing time effective and efficient strategies for managing the challenges that multi-tasking presents to CPWs.

Keywords: child protection workers, multi-tasking, work practices, mixed methods, child protection policy, client focus, non-therapeutic tasks