A survey of threats and violence directed against child protection workers in a rural state.

Abstract

Increasingly, workers in a variety of settings are the targets of threats and violence [New York Times 1992; NASW News 1993]. After reviewing the literature on the topic, Schultz [1989: 54] concluded that social workers face violence in all types of settings and that work is a risky profession in terms of safety. More recently, Murdoch [1993: 307] concluded that is clear that work ... has become a profession in which the constant risk of assault is part of reality.Child protection workers face special dangers on the job. Yet this topic has received scant attention in the child welfare literature. This article reports data drawn from a March 1993 questionnaire survey of line workers and supervisors employed by the Montana Department of Family Services (DFS) that was designed to document the frequency with which staff members faced threats and violence.BACKGROUND OF STUDYThe nonfatal shooting in 1985 of a child protection worker employed by DFS sent shudders through the agency. Since then, anecdotal reports of threats and violence against workers have circulated. Lacking, however, were any data to indicate the nature of the incidents or how often DFS child protection workers were threatened or injured.Interviews with selected workers and supervisors while the questionnaire was being designed indicated that providing child protection services was, in general, more dangerous than providing other agency-related services. Consequently, this 10-page questionnaire zeroed in on child protection case activity. It focused only on the workers' experiences in the previous 12 months. It was assumed that memory of details would be less certain about incidents occurring prior to that time.The questionnaire was sent to 267 DFS workers and supervisors. The response rate was nearly 80%. Because some responses arrived after the deadline and some were not completed according to instructions, the number of usable questionnaires was reduced to 166.RESPONDENTS' CHARACTERISTICSOf the 166 respondents, 73% were female and 27% were male. The vast majority (93%) were Caucasian, 4% were Native American, 2% were Hispanic, and 1% were African American. The median age was 41; the youngest respondent was 23. The respondents had worked for a mean of 7.7 years, with a range of less than one year to 26 years. Seventy-seven percent had the title of worker and 13% were supervisors. The remaining 10% had other job titles related to foster home recruitment and developmental disabilities case management.In a predominantly rural state like Montana, there are numerous small county offices staffed by only one to several workers. In such offices, a worker typically handles a wide variety of duties, including child protection, adult protection, foster home supervision, and developmental disabilities case management. One-half of the respondents reported that they devoted at least 95% of their time to child protection. One-fourth spent less than 50% of their time on child protection-related duties. About one-fifth of the respondents spent less than 5% of their time on child protection cases. These are important background figures to keep in mind when examining the frequency with which workers were threatened or injured. Had a higher percentage of the respondents spent more time on child protection cases, it is likely that the incidence of violence and threats would have been even higher.Of the respondents, 78% had a bachelor's degree and 22% had a graduate degree. Of the 22% (n=37) with a master's degree, 30% had their graduate degree in guidance and counseling (education), 24% had a degree in work (M.S.W.) and 14% had an advanced degrees in theology or religion. The remaining 32% had advanced degrees in a wide variety of fields. Of those with only a baccalaureate degree, 80% had completed an academic major in one of five areas: work (32%), sociology (19%), human services (10%), psychology (10%), and education (9%). …