Fact Sheets about Child Welfare Social Workers’ Working Conditions

Dr. Jessica Toft and PhD candidate Ruti Soffer-Elnekave developed two related Fact Sheets entitled Child Welfare Social Workers’ Working Conditions: a Survey of Minnesotan Licensed Social Workers. Fact Sheet #1 presents findings on the effects of neoliberal managerialism on working conditions of child welfare social workers in Minnesota. Fact Sheet #2 presents findings regarding the degree to which social workers can engage their knowledge, skills, and ethics in the workplace, also known as professional discretion. Fact Sheet #3 presents findings on child protection social workers’ level of professional discretion. Fact Sheet #4* presents findings on the extent to which rural social workers experience managerialism and the ways in which they use professional discretion and practice resistance. Fact Sheet #5* presents findings from a survey of Minnesotan licensed school social workers’ working conditions.

*Note: These Fact Sheets contain information pertaining to child welfare social workers. Fact Sheet #4 includes unique information on rural social workers in Minnesota, which include Child Protection and other child welfare professionals in rural settings. Fact Sheet #5 discusses working conditions of licensed school social workers, which is useful training information for child welfare workers who work alongside school professionals and intersect with educational settings. 

Download Fact Sheets:

• Fact Sheet #1: Neoliberal Managerialism
• Fact Sheet #2: Professional Discretion
• Fact Sheet #3: Child Protection Social Workers’ Professional Discretion
• Fact Sheet #4: Managerialism, Professional Discretion, and Resistance among Rural Social Workers
• Fact Sheet #5: Neoliberal Managerialism among School Social Workers

Listen to podcasts:

• Introduction
• Episode 1: What Neoliberalism is and why it Matters for Social Work
• Episode 2: How Neoliberalism affects Child Welfare Services
• Episode 3: Managerialism Effects on Social Service Providers
• Episode 4: Impact on Child Welfare Social Workers in Minnesota (New Findings)