High turnover rates among child welfare workers is a long-standing issue, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and other significant national and global crises. Turnover is costly for agencies and can disrupt the necessary services child welfare workers provide to vulnerable children, youth, and families.

Virginia’s Department of Social Services (VDSS) Office of Trauma and Resilience Policy (OTRP), led by Pathways to Resilience Advisory Committee member Laurie Crawford, is seeking to address turnover. We spoke with Kaleigh Mullins, Master of Public Policy, Graduate Consultant for the OTRP, and author of Vicarious Trauma in the Workplace: Mitigating the Effects of Vicarious Trauma in Child Welfare Workers in Virginia’s Department of Social Services about her research, findings, and next steps to better support child welfare workers in Virginia.

Please tell us about your research and findings on the prevalence of vicarious trauma in the Social Services System in Virginia.

When I first started this work with VDSS, I had no idea about the pervasiveness and far-reaching issue of vicarious trauma. Of course, I had assumed that those entrenched in the worst cases within the child welfare system could experience traumatization. But as I continued work on this subject, I found that, no matter where one was, or the cases they worked on, trauma was still a real possibility.

To further our research, we decided to develop a survey that contained seven demographics questions and 13 content questions on vicarious trauma, agency-driven and personal coping strategies, and the impact, if any, of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was sent to 5,000 Department of Social Services human services workers spread evenly throughout the state.

According to the respondents’ self-reporting, over 74% indicated they had experienced vicarious trauma. According to the data, the longer one spends in the field, the more likely they are to have symptoms of vicarious trauma. Almost all regions experience vicarious trauma at the same rate, making this a universal experience, not one that impacts differently, based on years of experience.

What are the implications of high turnover rates – why is it such an issue?

One of the most detrimental direct implications of high turnover rates is the toll it takes on the children and families served by the system. Children within the child welfare system see turnover as another example of relationship loss, further stunting their ability to establish and keep relationships. This results in a loss of trust and possible behavioral issues reaching far beyond their time in the child welfare system.

Turnover can also affect permanency, which is when a child leaves the system to live with a permanent family. According to a Child Welfare League of America’s 2022 report, children with one caseworker achieve permanency in 74.5% of cases. This number drops to 17.5% for children with two caseworkers.

Unfortunately, high turnover in the child welfare system is a cyclical issue, as many exiting workers cite an increased caseload as a reason for leaving. However, the reason for high caseloads is high turnover; so, if the child welfare system continues to have high turnover rates, the consequence would be higher caseloads and even higher turnover rates. Because of this, no problem within the system can be solved without first tackling the issue of turnover.

What practices are in place in Virginia to mitigate the impacts of vicarious trauma, and what other strategies would you recommend?

When we started this project, there were no practices in place to mitigate the impacts of vicarious trauma. However, since we wrapped up this work in May, the Office of Trauma and Resilience Policy at VDSS has worked tirelessly to implement a workforce support program, to include a peer support line staffed by retired child welfare workers and the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) framework.

Community resilience as a form of trauma mitigation is a newer model that has emerged in the social welfare world in the past few years. CRM’s main selling point is that it is biologically based, as it educates individuals on the nervous system and the body’s reaction to stress. It results in more adaptive and educated thinking in distress. It also emphasizes the importance of self-care and social support, which in turn can lead to more resilient and healthy communities. Of all the models and mitigation methods we researched, the Community Resiliency Model, coupled with a peer support line, matched the needs of Virginians the most.

Laurie Crawford, Director of the Virginia Office of Trauma and Resilience Policy, says, “the national-level research and the Virginia-specific research conducted by the OTRP over the last several years has made the consequences of vicarious trauma to the human services workforce and the families that they serve abundantly clear. If we implement a comprehensive program that supports the well-being of our social services workforce, we will reduce turnover and, ultimately, better support children and families we serve.”

To learn more about the VA Office of Trauma and Resilience Policy, visit their website.

Kaleigh Mullins recently graduated with a Master of Public Policy from the University of Virginia’s Public Policy and Leadership program. While at the University of Virginia, she completed her capstone with the Virginia Department of Social Services’ Office of Trauma and Resilience Policy on better supporting social workers experiencing vicarious trauma. Simultaneously, she also served as a Research Assistant with the United Nations and Humanitarian Collaborative, where she helped to further develop the Read for Action campaign. She plans to pursue a career in child welfare research and advocacy.