The Vital Role of Organisational Culture in Child Welfare

For those working in the world of child welfare, the importance of organizational culture goes far beyond the concept of an excellent place to work; it is the basis upon which successful outcomes in child welfare rigorous and sophisticated risk assessment and safety planning occur. A healthy organizational culture is not merely the background, setting the stage and providing the scenery, but a dynamic force that supports and shapes staff behaviours, attitudes and effectiveness. The culture of a child welfare organization has a bearing on how staff work with families and children and, ultimately, the quality of the outcomes of those being served (Schein & Schein, 2018).

Staff Well-being: The Cornerstone of Success

Underlying any organization that works with children is its culture and the emotional well-being of its staff. Staff safety is fundamental to their ability to do jobs that will be done well if the organization’s culture encourages psychological safety, trust, collaboration, and learning. There are also real-world consequences. An environment emphasizing psychological safety, trust, collaboration and learning will enable staff to feel valued, supported and empowered.  When staff are thriving, they are more likely to engage families with empathy, compassion and respect, the essential ingredients for meaningful and influential work on risk assessment and safety planning (Forrester et al., 2008a). A thriving staff feels safe speaking up, sharing ideas, and working collaboratively without fear of punishment. Such a culture of trust and candour encourages creativity and the adoption of best practices, ultimately leading to better results for children and families (Spillane, 2006).

Critical Elements for a Thriving Organizational Culture

Psychological Safety: Employees must feel safe and confident that if they raise an issue or have an idea, it will be taken seriously and genuinely considered, enabling employees to do their work well (Edmondson, 1999). Psychological safety is a necessary precursor to a culture that allows staff to take risks to innovate, ask the questions needed to learn, and speak up.

Trust and empowerment: Staff must have a culture of trust to make decisions and take responsibility for their work. This trust occurs when leadership is committed to its staff, provides them with the necessary tools, and engages in decision-making (Schein and Schein, 2018). Empowered staff are likelier to engage with families to determine collaborative, realistic, and sustainable safety plans (Turnell and Murphy, 2017).

Collaboration and teamwork: The capacity to work with and through others is not simply a matter of working together but of developing relationships that allow mutual respect for the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each person and that enable ‘mutual learning and sharing, goals that are essential for effective teamwork in child welfare (the stakes are too high to do otherwise). Not only that, but collaboration makes it more likely that all aspects of a child’s circumstances will be taken into account in risk assessments and safety planning (Forrester et al., 2008b).

Continuous Learning and Development: Organisations must commit to life-long learning and critical reflection. Organizations that offer training, provide time and space for staff to reflect on their practices, and encourage staff to seek information on child welfare are more likely to be learning organizations (Senge, 1990). Learning organizations change and grow, so practices stay current and relevant as new issues are discovered.

Recognition and support: Celebrating organizational successes and giving constructive feedback can help employees feel valued, motivated, and supported. This is particularly important for organizations that want to maintain their employees' energy and momentum. Research has also shown that positive feedback helps organizations retain their moral values and mission goals. Organizations reaffirm the importance of their employees’ work and overall mission by recognizing staff contributions and successes (Cameron and Quinn, 2011).

Leadership as Role Models: Child welfare leaders must advocate for change and actively model the behaviours, values and attitudes they seek to create in their organizations. When leaders commit to psychological safety, collaboration and trust, they inspire staff to do the same (see Heifetz  Linsky, 2002). Leadership is the key to creating the right organizational tone and culture, and leaders who model these principles of good leadership set the tone for the entire organization. Leaders who act as role models demonstrate their values through their actions and commitment to the organization’s mission and integrity. By modelling for staff how to navigate the complex challenges they will face in their work, these leaders create the conditions for the culture to thrive.

Distributive Leadership and Collaborative Decision-making: Thriving organizational cultures decentralize decision-making and adopt a distributive leadership style. Distributive leadership flips the tables on traditional, hierarchical decision-making models, recognizing a collective's wisdom over a single leader's authority (Gronn, 2002). In child welfare, where a nuanced understanding of an individual case is crucial, distributive decision-making ensures that interventions will reflect the knowledge and expertise of many rather than the positional authority of a single individual (Turnell  Edwards, 1999).

Conclusion

Research demonstrates that a paternalistic culture, in which decisions are made from the top down without explicitly considering staff and family voices, produces disconnect and often ineffective practices (Darlington, Feeney, & Rixon, 2005; Healy, 2005; Munro et al., 2020). Such approaches are more likely to produce unrealistic safety plans and insufficient buy-in from families, which hinder success (Turnell & Edwards, 1999). In contrast, when staff are flourishing, they are better able to engage families in mutually productive ways and create safety plans that are both successful and sustainable (Trevithick, 2008). In a flourishing culture, staff are likelier to take a strengths-based approach, emphasizing what is optimistic about working with a family rather than focusing only on the risk factors (Cameron & Freymond, 2006; Harries, 2008). This, in turn, leads to more positive and productive relationships with families, with better outcomes for children. Lee and Ayón’s (2004) study on cultural competency in child welfare found that social workers who were more culturally competent had more successful outcomes with their clients.

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