Providers report burnout due to complicated paperwork and reporting requirements. Often documentation and other administrative work is not billable, and so the work goes unpaid or leads to challenges in caseloads. Further, providers reported difficulties in helping clients navigating services due to complicated bureaucratic systems and red tape.

AN ADMINISTRATOR’S PERSPECTIVE

“Managing all the data that I have to send out is a lot and is definitely overwhelming. I feel like it can lead to burnout.”

A DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDER’S PERSPECTIVE

“I worked in a unit that was unconventional and that's why I stayed so long. Our whole goal was to prevent removal of kiddos. We were the last sort of unit that did actual social work, where everywhere else just became paperwork. Crossing t's and dotting i's and all the bureaucracy.”

Compassion fatigue was commonly referenced as a reason people were thinking of leaving the field. Having a supportive work environment with colleagues who understood and could support each other was a common reason people chose to stay at their jobs.

PERSPECTIVES FROM DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS

“I myself have thought plenty of times to leave this position just because there's a high level of compassion fatigue that you deal with in this job, and on top of that, you know, dealing with life and what life throws at you.”

“I also struggle because I have 2 children. I have a 10 year old and a 3 year old, and I work full time. So it's hard for me to be involved with the families and give them all the supports and then go home and just be exhausted and not all the way there for my kids as I want to be. That drives me to want to work part time, but financially it's not realistic.”

Providers constantly spoke about caseloads being too high with not enough time available to get the work done. This led to working excessive hours, beyond the scope of their job descriptions. 

PERSPECTIVES FROM OF DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDER

“You're like playing whack-a-mole. Okay, I got this done. But now there's 50 other things that popped up that I have to deal with. The stress of it feels helpless and hopeless.”

“It's been kind of tough because at one point this year my caseload was over a hundred percent full. I had the same expectations to do basically the same amount of work as a seasoned worker with 5 to 10 years more of experience then me.”

Many providers reported witnessing their clients experiencing horrific traumas. The level of burnout is beyond the traditional compassion fatigue and may require leaving or pausing work in order to cope.

PERSPECTIVES FROM ADMINISTRATORS

“I have amazing colleagues and a supervisor, but they don't understand when I share with them about the traumas of the people that I work with. Seeing families cut up in pieces, seeing families shot, having their babies taken away from them. Then I have to come to my family. It's really difficult, and I don't know how long I can do it. I'm trying to stay as long as I can.”

“There's a lot of trauma within our community, right? And so people come in thinking, "Yay! I'm going to play with babies and talk to families." But actually, there's a lot of other things that come with that. And they're not necessarily equipped. We tried to help them before; but they're surprised when it comes up, and they're often surprised how triggered they are.”

Providers reported high levels of anxiety due to lack of feeling safe in their jobs. Sometimes safety concerns were around physical safety, while other times it was due to financial insecurity.

PERSPECTIVES OF DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS

“I'm seeing a lot more leaving, in part because some of the behaviors are feeling more challenging or different, especially coming out of Covid. Quite a few have started getting like physically hurt at work by some of the things happening with some of the kids...they didn't, you know, agree to come to a job where a 5 year old's gonna kick them in the back and like things like that.”

“In the home visiting field, there is not a clear line about safety. What about things that are unsafe for me? If you have trauma because you were bitten by a dog, and you are going into a family with big dogs, are you allowed to be afraid and ask to change? That’s not clear and it makes me anxious.”