Publication Date
5-2024
Advisor(s) - Committee Chair
Aaron Hughey, Kimberly Green, Austin Griffiths
Degree Program
Educational Leadership
Degree Type
Doctor of Education
Abstract
Those in the fields of child welfare and social work often face hard work with few rewards. Child welfare workers are faced with the difficult and demanding challenge of working diligently to ensure the safety and well-being of children. This study aimed to examine the perceptions of child welfare participants enrolled in a child welfare program following a mock testimony intervention through a one-group pretest-posttest design.
The participants in this study were full-time undergraduate (n= 5) and post-graduate (n = 2) students with ages ranging from 19 to 25 years old. All participants attended a mid-sized university located in the southeastern region of the United States during the semesters of spring 2023 and fall 2023. Participants in this study must have been admitted into the university’s social work program and accepted into the child welfare program. The purpose of this study was to measure the confidence of child welfare students after the completion of a one-day training followed by a simulative mock testimony intervention. The intervention was to build necessary skills to develop confidence, effectiveness, and an understanding of the complex components that comprise the family court system.
The Daily Experience of Simulation Training (DEST) Survey was used to evaluate the intervention (Chiu et al., 2021). The DEST Survey identifies 13 essential child protection skills and is intended to educate participants. The 13 skills include 1) gathering info from collateral contacts; 2) thinking critically on facts versus hypotheses; 3) engaging families; 4) assessing safety; 5) integrating compassion and investigative skills; 6) addressing any concerns about family statements and behaviors; 7) identifying family strengths; 8) explaining the need for a safety plan and/or protective custody; 9) explaining the state agency’s role and expectations for keeping children safe; 10) answering pointed questions from parents and caregivers; 11) addressing underlying conditions such as domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, and developmental disabilities; 12) testifying in court; and 13) working as a child protection investigator.
Out of the13 Essential Skills for Child Welfare Workers, students noted an improvement in confidence skills included gathering collateral contacts, critically thinking on Facts vs. Hypothesis, assessing safety, identifying family strengths, and testifying in court. Areas that did not show improvement included engaging families, integrating compassion and investigative skill, addressing any concerns about family statements and behaviors, explaining the need for a safety plan and/or protective custody, explaining the state agency’s role and expectations for keeping children safe, answering pointed questions from parents and caregivers, addressing underlying conditions such as domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, and developmental disabilities and working as a child protection investigator.
Disciplines
Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work
Recommended Citation
Hines, Monica, "PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS IN A PUBLIC CHILD WELFARE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOLLOWING A MOCK TESTIMONY INTERVENTION" (2024). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 3735.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/3735