Best Practices for Developing Child Protection Workers’ Skills: Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, & Mental Health Training Cover Image
  • Price 10.00 €

Best Practices for Developing Child Protection Workers’ Skills: Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, & Mental Health Training
Best Practices for Developing Child Protection Workers’ Skills: Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, & Mental Health Training

Author(s): Kristin Heffernan, Barbara Walters, Betty Blythe
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: POLIROM & Universitatea Bucureşti - Dept. de Sociologie şi Asistenţă Socială
Keywords: child protection; child welfare

Summary/Abstract: Families seen by child welfare agencies often experience mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence problems in addition to child abuse. Many child protection agencies have been slow to incorporate information about such co-occurring familial problems into training protocols. This training deficit continues despite research suggesting that the presence of confounding issues in families involved with the child welfare system warrants specialized intervention strategies. This study explores cross-training efforts in domestic violence, mental health, and substance abuse treatment undertaken by child protection agencies. Information about exemplary cross-training initiatives was collected via telephone interviews with professionals at sites deemed to represent best practices in cross-training by nationally recognized experts in child welfare, mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence. The dynamics of training received by child protection workers at exemplary sites throughout the U.S. was examined, including what motivated these sites to offer training, who was involved, and what kinds of cross-training opportunities were offered. The findings indicate a particular need to devote more resources to training in mental health issues and to provide on-going training in all three areas, domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health. Supervisors need to be involved in both initial and on-going cross-training efforts. More rigorous evaluation of cross-training efforts is necessary, especially training that examines changes in the behavior of child protection workers. Finally, collaborative networks need to be developed across systems of care to further develop and sustain the results of cross-training.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 51-64
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: English