The Critical Role of Child Welfare Workers
A first responder is someone with specialized training who is called upon to help when a crisis occurs. Fire fighters, police, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) immediately come to mind, but what about child welfare workers? Child welfare workers are often the subject of threats and attacks, witness trauma first-hand and experience secondary traumatic stress, and encounter dangerous situations as part of their job. In this 3-minute video, workers and program leaders from four states (Louisiana, Virginia, Nebraska, and Washington) discuss the critical role child welfare workers play in our communities. Despite the stress and challenges they face; they also speak to how rewarding it is to help bring safety and stability to the lives of the children in their care. We want to take a moment during Child Welfare Workforce Development month to recognize the difficult jobs child welfare workers do every day and acknowledge that they, as one of our video participants described, are “unsung heroes”.