In February, the Chicago Tribune published a letter to the editor entitled, “Death of state welfare worker reminds us to thank those who risk their lives for children,” (February 12, 2018). The letter described the death of Pamela Sue Knight, a 59-year-old child protective services investigator. Knight was brutally beaten as she attempted to take protective custody of a 2-year-old child who was believed to be a victim of abuse and neglect. Knight was beaten by the boy’s father. She was taken to the hospital and died four months later. The boy’s father has been charged with Knight’s murder.
The letter was deeply concerning. First, Knight’s death was brutal – the details of the assault and her resulting death suggest that she endured significant suffering in the last days and months of her life. Secondly, Knight was a state child protection worker who died while protecting a child. Typically, we read of police officers and firefighters who are injured or die in the line of duty. But child protection workers? The letter stood out to me because I have never read any news coverage or articles that reflected upon the risks that child protection workers face while carrying out their duties and responsibilities. Sadly, as I researched further, I found several national stories where child protection workers were killed while protecting a child.
So, what are the risks faced by Colorado child protection workers? One of the primary responsibilities of child protection workers is to go into a citizen’s home to assess child and family safety. Workers often encounter families who are trying to make positive changes in their lives but they also encounter those who pose a safety risk. It is not uncommon to encounter people with extensive criminal or mental health histories, as well as the dangers associated with domestic violence and substance abuse. The presence of any one of these factors can create safety risks for professionals entering the home. There is one inescapable conclusion here: child safety and the safety of child protection workers are intertwined. The risks that affect children in a home may also pose a risk to professionals who enter that same home. So, how do we protect child protection professionals as they work to protect our children?
In Colorado, a child protection worker’s safety is often impacted by a number of factors, including the geographic region of the county human services agency. Generally, urban human service departments have more resources – allowing workers to secure the assistance of a colleague or even law enforcement if needed. In rural counties, human services agencies are typically small, often employing just a handful of child protection professionals. These agencies are separated from urban centers by mountain ranges and vast plains often placing both the worker and the family hundreds of miles from much needed services, including mental health, drug treatment and child visitation centers. Public transportation is non-existent. The result is that child protection workers in rural areas are required to wear many hats. They do home visits, counsel family members, write treatment plans, de-escalate tense situations and remove children from unsafe homes. They even drive family members, sometimes 200 miles in a day, to necessary appointments and return them home again. These workers are often alone. They are without the backup and services provided in more densely populated areas. However, regardless of where one is employed, there are risks. Colorado has no standard safety training for its child protection workers.
In 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nearly 1,100 social workers, including private and governmental were injured as a result of violence. Among the 490 state social workers injured, nearly one third worked with children and families. While the research suggests that violence against child protection workers is statistically low, all would agree that one incident of violence is one too many. An older survey conducted by a national social work association indicated that 50 to 88 percent of all social workers experienced some sort of violence in their career.
In 2009, there were federal efforts to address the safety of social workers. The Terri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act would have awarded grants to states to provide safety measures to social workers in the form of equipment, self-defense, training and education to identify risks and de-escalate dangerous situations. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass and financial resources to provide consistent and ongoing support in this area remains severely lacking at both the state and national levels.
Colorado has also begun to tackle some of the challenges encountered by child protection workers. In 2017, the Workforce Resiliency Task Force was created to address issues such as secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue. The final report made recommendations to human service agencies on how to support the mental health of child protection workers but it did not address the physical safety of these same workers. Both of these components need to be considered together if we want to be effective in addressing the complete well-being of our child welfare workers.
Simply put – child protection workers are often exposed to the same risks and dangers as other first responders but without the same training and support. Training on de-escalation, non-violent forms of self-defense and crisis management could go a long way to protecting our child protection professionals.
Deaths like Pamela Sue Knight’s and others like her are preventable. We need to learn from these tragedies and act. After all, our children’s lives depend upon these professionals and their ability to do their jobs safely.
