Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of children and families, created additional stressors, and increased risks for maltreatment. The pandemic has changed the way child welfare agencies operate, requiring changes to policies and practice. Minimal research has considered the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on child welfare workers wellbeing and job satisfaction.

Objective

This mixed-methods research study seeks to understand CPS staff satisfaction, variables impacting satisfaction, and challenges that increased since the pandemic began for child welfare workers in Ohio.

Participants and setting

A sample of staff members (n = 267) from 50 CPS agencies across Ohio participated in the study.

Methods

This mixed-methods study used logistic regression, chi square analyses, and thematic analysis to analyze the data from a survey sent to child welfare agencies in Ohio.

Results

Caring for minor children, primary role at work, and years in child welfare were significantly associated with job satisfaction. Those working in foster care/placement, adoption/permanency, family support/visitation, kinship were 7.57 times more likely than those doing intake/investigation work to be satisfied with their job (p = .007). Thematic analysis of staff issues that increased during the pandemic resulted in six themes: Stress and Anxiety, Feeling Overwhelmed, Burnout, All, Motivation, and Isolation and Disconnection.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic has created additional stressors for child welfare staff. Practice implications are discussed to help increase job satisfaction, staff wellbeing, and mitigate turnover.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间儿童福利工作者的满意度和幸福感：俄亥俄州机构工作人员的观点

背景

COVID-19 大流行影响了儿童和家庭的生活，造成了额外的压力源，并增加了虐待的风险。大流行改变了儿童福利机构的运作方式，需要改变政策和做法。极少的研究考虑了 COVID-19 大流行对儿童福利工作者的福祉和工作满意度的影响。

客观的

这项混合方法研究旨在了解 CPS 员工的满意度、影响满意度的变量，以及自大流行开始以来俄亥俄州儿童福利工作者面临的挑战。

参与者和设置

来自俄亥俄州 50 个 CPS 机构的工作人员样本 (n = 267) 参与了这项研究。

方法

这项混合方法研究使用逻辑回归、卡方分析和主题分析来分析发送给俄亥俄州儿童福利机构的调查数据。

结果

照顾未成年子女、在工作中扮演主要角色以及享受儿童福利的年限与工作满意度显着相关。那些从事寄养/安置、收养/永久性工作、家庭支持/探视、亲属关系的人对工作的满意度是从事接收/调查工作的人的 7.57 倍 (p = .007 )  。对大流行期间增加的员工问题进行专题分析，得出六个主题：压力和焦虑、不知所措、倦怠、所有、动机以及孤立和脱节。

结论

COVID-19 大流行给儿童福利工作人员带来了额外的压力。讨论了实践意义，以帮助提高工作满意度、员工福利和减少人员流动。