Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social Work Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Psychology

Secondary Traumatic Stress

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Secondary Traumatic Stress (Sts) – Its Impact On The Child Welfare Workforce And Strategies For Agencies To Address It, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development Nov 2021

Secondary Traumatic Stress (Sts) – Its Impact On The Child Welfare Workforce And Strategies For Agencies To Address It, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) can mimic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bride, 2007). These symptoms include having dreams and flashbacks of the traumatic event, avoiding activities or places that might remind someone of the traumatic event, having sleep issues, being irritable, difficulty concentrating, or being hypervigilant. In this video, child welfare staff share how the trauma they experience as part of their job affects them, including physical and emotional reactions and the desire to leave the field. Unfortunately, experiencing STS is very common among the child welfare workforce. Although child welfare is not the only profession that is exposed …


Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout And Resilience In The Child Welfare Workforce: Early Results From Nebraska’S Randomized Controlled Trial Of Resilience Alliance, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development Aug 2021

Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout And Resilience In The Child Welfare Workforce: Early Results From Nebraska’S Randomized Controlled Trial Of Resilience Alliance, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

A 2018 needs assessment indicated that more than 50% of the child welfare workforce in Nebraska was experiencing elevated secondary traumatic stress (STS). STS refers to the experience of people – generally professionals– who are exposed to others’ traumatic events as part of their work. As a result of this exposure, these professionals can develop their own traumatic symptoms and reactions such as sleeplessness and anxiety. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) implemented CFS Strong, a multi-phased workforce intervention …


Ohio Progress Update- Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress And Providing Supportive Supervision, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development Oct 2020

Ohio Progress Update- Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress And Providing Supportive Supervision, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) refers to the experience of people – generally professionals– who are exposed to others’ traumatic stories as part of their work. As a result of this exposure, these professionals can develop their own traumatic symptoms and reactions. Child welfare staff are particularly susceptible to STS because of the vulnerable nature of the families they work with, the unpredictable nature of their jobs, and their general lack of physical and psychological protection (ACS-NYU Children’s Trauma Institute, 2011). As such, STS can mimic the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Bride, 2007) including nightmares, sleep disruption, avoidance, and irritability. …


Nebraska Progress Update– Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development Jun 2020

Nebraska Progress Update– Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

In December 2017, 53% of Nebraska child welfare workforce respondents had recently experienced elevated levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms, according to a survey of 40% of the workforce conducted by the QIC-WD. STS can mimic the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Bride, 2007) such as nightmares, avoidance, sleep disruption, and irritability. A recent study, conducted in another jurisdiction, found that 37% of CPS workers reported at least moderate symptoms of STS (Baugerud, Vangbaek and Melinder, 2018), indicating Nebraska’s rate of STS was high relative to other child welfare workers. Since STS has been linked to low rates …


Nebraska Selects A Workforce Intervention: Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development Jan 2019

Nebraska Selects A Workforce Intervention: Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) workforce intervention will address secondary traumatic stress (STS) among frontline staff and supervisors. Nebraska is a state-run child welfare system with about 400 Child and Family Service Specialists (CFSS) organized into five service areas across the state. Currently, the annual CFSS turnover rate in Nebraska is about 30%, but DCFS is committed to retaining and supporting high quality CFSS. Over the last year, DCFS has worked with the QIC-WD to review human resources (HR) data, feedback from the field (e.g., CFSS, supervisors, and administrators), and …