Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) can occur at high rates in professions where employees are indirectly exposed to trauma, have high workloads, and are exposed to other stressors and pressures. Specifically, Child Welfare (CW) staff are at high risk of STS because of the vulnerable nature of their clients, the unpredictable nature of their jobs, and their relative lack of physical and psychological protection. This article is an in-depth case study of one of five intervention county sites in a midwestern state which were part of a larger quasi-experimental study that addressed STS among all CW staff and leaders. This purpose of this case study was to contextually understand how a particular site implemented the resilience alliance and supportive supervision interventions. Findings suggest changes in leadership attitudes, changes to organizational policies, enactment of supportive supervision, and formation of groups of staff to both learn resilience skills and build supportive relationships across the agency was an effective approach in ensuring organizational change. Furthermore, findings highlight the interplay between exposure to trauma and bureaucratic rules that add to CW staff stress, highlighting the importance of leadership and supervisors to acknowledge the toll exposure to trauma has on staff. Future research is needed to continue and build the literature on what specific strategies and complex interventions can mitigate STS and burnout in the CW workforce. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Secondary Traumatic Stress and The Child Welfare Workforce: A Case Study on Resilience.
Comments are closed.