Ryan K Barney’s research while affiliated with University of Kentucky and other places

Background: While child welfare scholarship has paid much attention to workforce well-being such as burnout, secondary traumatic stress (STS), and compassion satisfaction, few studies have investigated how these outcomes influence utilization of casework skills. Objectives: This study aimed to understand the relationship between child welfare workforce well-being and use of casework skills. Specifically, we examined associations between burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction and casework skills including parent/youth engagement, safety and risk assessment/case planning, and relative/kin connections. Participants and Setting. Participants comprised 786 child welfare direct service workers and supervisors in a Midwestern state. Method: Using a repeated cross-sectional design, data were collected via online surveys. Multi-variate regression tested relationships between measures of well-being and casework skills. Results: First, higher compassion satisfaction was positively associated (p = 0.000, f 2 = 0.14) while higher burnout (p = 0.000, f 2 = 0.04) and STS (p = 0.002, f 2 = 0.01) were negatively associated with use of engagement skills. Similarly, higher compassion satisfaction was positively associated (p = 0.000, f 2 = 0.18) and higher burnout (p = 0.000, f 2 = 0.06) and STS (p = 0.001, f 2 = 0.02) were negatively associated with use of assessment/case planning skills. Lastly, compassion satisfaction (p = 0.000, f 2 = 0.06) was positively associated and burnout was negatively associated (p = 0.000, f 2 = 0.02) with relative/kin connections. Conclusion: Child welfare workforce well-being may influence use of casework skills. More research is needed to understand how positive workforce well-being impacts service delivery and, ultimately, child and family outcomes.

While scholarship exploring well-being outcomes among child welfare workers is burgeoning, few studies have examined predictors of well-being among foster parents. Utilizing the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) Scale, this study examined factors associated with foster parent burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Results demonstrated that several demographic factors predicted the ProQOL of foster parents. Strengthening foster parent well-being is important to achieving positive outcomes with children and families engaging with child welfare systems.