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Moral injury among Child Protection Professionals: Implications for the ethical treatment and retention of workers

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  • Haight, Wendy
  • Sugrue, Erin P.
  • Calhoun, Molly

Abstract

This study considers any “moral injury” occurring among professionals working within the Child Protection System (CPS). Moral injury refers to the lasting psychological, spiritual and social harm caused by one's own or another's actions in high-stakes situations that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations. We administered a modified version of the Moral Injury Events Scale (MIES) (Nash et al., 2013) to 38 CPS professionals. We then conducted in-depth, semi-structured, audio-recorded individual interviews with them to elaborate their responses to the MIES. Professionals' MIES scores and descriptions of their responses suggest that some professionals do experience moral injury as a result of their CPS involvement. Similar to parents involved with CPS, professionals described harm to themselves occurring through under-resourced systems, problematic professionals, unfair laws and policies, abusive parents, an adversarial system, systemic biases, harm to children by the system and poor-quality services. They also communicated feelings associated with moral injury such as anger and sadness, emotional numbing, and guilt and shame. These feelings have been reported by CPS-involved parents and are described in the existing moral injury literature. Many also described troubling, existential issues including their ability to function in an ethical and moral manner within a system they viewed as deeply flawed, and in an unsupportive working environment steeped in human misery. Nearly a third of all professionals described themselves or colleagues as actively seeking employment elsewhere. We discuss implications for the related issues of the ethical treatment and retention of professionals working within CPS.

Suggested Citation

  • Haight, Wendy & Sugrue, Erin P. & Calhoun, Molly, 2017. "Moral injury among Child Protection Professionals: Implications for the ethical treatment and retention of workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 27-41.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:82:y:2017:i:c:p:27-41
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.08.030
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Haight, Wendy & Sugrue, Erin & Calhoun, Molly & Black, James, 2016. "A scoping study of moral injury: Identifying directions for social work research," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 190-200.
    2. Ryan, Joseph P. & Garnier, Philip & Zyphur, Michael & Zhai, Fuhua, 2006. "Investigating the effects of caseworker characteristics in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 993-1006, September.
    3. Zeitlin, Wendy & Augsberger, Astraea & Auerbach, Charles & McGowan, Brenda, 2014. "A mixed-methods study of the impact of organizational culture on workforce retention in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 36-43.
    4. Chen, Yi-Yi & Park, Jisung & Park, Aely, 2012. "Existence, relatedness, or growth? Examining turnover intention of public child welfare caseworkers from a human needs approach," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 2088-2093.
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    Cited by:

    1. Haight, Wendy & Waubanascum, Cary & Glesener, David & Marsalis, Scott, 2018. "A scoping study of Indigenous child welfare: The long emergency and preparations for the next seven generations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 397-410.
    2. Haight, Wendy & Korang-Okrah, Rose & Black, James E. & Gibson, Priscilla & Nashandi, Ndilimeke J.C., 2020. "Moral injury among Akan women: Lessons for culturally sensitive child welfare interventions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    3. Lamothe, Josianne & Geoffrion, Steve & Couvrette, Amélie & Guay, Stéphane, 2021. "Supervisor support and emotional labor in the context of client aggression," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    4. Haight, Wendy & Cho, Minhae & Soffer-Elnekave, Ruth & Nashandi, Ndilimeke J.C. & Suleiman, Johara, 2022. "Moral injury experienced by emerging adults with child welfare histories in developmental and sociocultural contexts: “I knew the system was broken.”," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    5. Boonzaaier, Emma & Truter, Elmien & Fouché, Ansie, 2021. "Occupational risk factors in child protection social work: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    6. Soffer-Elnekave, Ruth & Haight, Wendy & Nashandi, Ndilimeke J.C. & Cho, Minhae & Suleiman, Johara & Park, Sookyoung, 2023. "Re-orienting narratives of moral injury towards positive development: The experiences of emerging adults with child welfare histories," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    7. He, Amy S. & Lizano, Erica L. & Stahlschmidt, Mary Jo, 2021. "When doing the right thing feels wrong: Moral distress among child welfare caseworkers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Haight, Wendy & Sugrue, Erin & Calhoun, Molly & Black, James, 2017. "Everyday coping with moral injury: The perspectives of professionals and parents involved with child protection services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 108-121.
    9. Haight, Wendy & Sugrue, Erin & Calhoun, Molly & Black, James, 2017. "“Basically, I look at it like combat”: Reflections on moral injury by parents involved with child protection services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 477-489.

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