Fryer G E, Poland J E, Bross D C, Krugman R D
Kempe National Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver.
Child Abuse Negl. 1988;12(4):481-90. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(88)90065-8.
County child protection units throughout the United States were surveyed to (1) profile the attributes of child protection workers, (2) determine their prevailing attitudes and needs, and (3) assess their access to and utilization of professional literature and consultation resources. Responses were received from 301 child protection workers employed in 33 different states. Respondents were generally depressed about their working conditions, the burden of huge caseloads, and unrealistic expectations of them. Job dissatisfaction was especially prevalent among workers who had been in the field for longer periods of time. Many workers had developed attitudes of resignation to their inability to help clients and had a tendency to avoid client contact. Workers reported doing very little professional reading due to the service requirements of their large caseloads and inaccessibility to journals and other meaningful literature pertinent to the field of child abuse and neglect. The availability of consultation in major specialty areas related to the performance of their child protective duties was frequently inadequate to meet their needs. Participation in formal training prior to first case involvement promoted professional reading and worker confidence in the quality of service provided. Worker job satisfaction and self-perceived professional skills were enhanced by membership in professional associations or societies and membership in or use of multidisciplinary teams. These results suggest the need to further develop national and regional resource centers in support of the practice of child protective service (CPS) workers.
对美国各地的县儿童保护单位进行了调查，目的是：(1) 描述儿童保护工作者的特征；(2) 确定他们普遍的态度和需求；(3) 评估他们获取和利用专业文献及咨询资源的情况。收到了来自33个不同州的301名儿童保护工作者的回复。受访者普遍对他们的工作条件、巨大的工作量负担以及对他们不切实际的期望感到沮丧。工作不满在从事该领域工作时间较长的工作者中尤为普遍。许多工作者对自己无力帮助客户产生了听之任之的态度，并且倾向于避免与客户接触。工作者报告称，由于大量案件的服务需求以及难以获取与虐待和忽视儿童领域相关的期刊及其他有意义的文献，他们很少进行专业阅读。在与其儿童保护职责履行相关的主要专业领域中，咨询服务的可获得性常常不足以满足他们的需求。在首次处理案件之前参加正式培训促进了专业阅读以及工作者对所提供服务质量的信心。加入专业协会或学会以及加入或使用多学科团队提高了工作者的工作满意度和自我认知的专业技能。这些结果表明有必要进一步发展国家和地区资源中心，以支持儿童保护服务（CPS）工作者的实践。
