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Although the death of a child client is among the worst work-related events that a child welfare worker can experience, the phenomenon is tremendously understudied concerning how the event impacts the staff involved and how, or if, their employing agencies supported any mental health needs that may have arisen after the death. This study investigates what types of mental health/emotional support was made available to Northeastern Ontario child welfare workers following the death of a child client, and how effective that support was in helping the worker cope with any difficulties related to the death. This study was guided by principles of Constructivist Grounded Theory and semi-structured qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with five (5) participants. My analysis found that the death of a child client can negatively impact both the mental wellbeing of involved workers as well as the organizational climate of an agency. My analysis also found that workers may delay the emotions associated with the grieving process to effectively focus on the administrative requirements resulting from the child’s death, potentially to their detriment. The different ways child welfare organizations supported staff through these events included individual and group psychological debriefings, grief counselling, and providing information regarding additional support options. Only three of the five workers engaged in the strategies provided to them by their agency, and of those three, only one found the services to be helpful with managing emotional difficulties related to the child’s death. What remained true among all five participants was that they each had very personalized ideas as to what they felt would have best helped them through this difficult event. I conclude that based on related literature and the findings of this study, child welfare organizations are recommended to invest in a thorough and embedded agency framework of trauma-management that addresses policy and procedure development as well as support coordination at the pre-trauma, immediate trauma, and post-trauma levels. Additionally, trauma-management should not be a singular standardized response and should be tailored to the individualized needs of each worker. Agencies should be well-versed in delivering different strategies of trauma-management and letting the worker lead in determining what type of support they are looking for and when would be best to receive it. Thesis Master of Social Work (MSW)

The literature indicates that engaging parents in child/youth mental health services is crucial for achieving positive outcomes. Yet, little research exists on how providers and organizations might hinder or facilitate parental engagement. This study aims to address this gap in literature by answering three research questions: (1) how do service providers working in child and youth mental health services define parental engagement? (2) Why does engaging parents in treatment remain a challenge for service providers? (3) What organizational- and provider-level factors contribute to this challenge? To facilitate this aim, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four service providers, including those working in community-based or outpatient child and youth mental health services. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling recruitment method. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed following principles of Constructivist Grounded Theory. Study results highlighted system- (e.g., access), organizational- (e.g., expectations and constraints), provider- (e.g., stance) and parental-level (e.g., shame) factors impacting parental engagement in services. These findings coincide with the documented impacts of neoliberalism and New Public Management on shaping mental health services. This study thus challenges traditional conceptualizations of engagement and underscores the interplay of complex factors that occur between service-levels. An expanded definition of parental engagement is therefore warranted if providers and organizations intend on holistically engaging parents in their child/youth’s care. Thesis Master of Social Work (MSW)

This study seeks to uncover the local social relations of unpaid overtime work of social workers working in non-profit social service organizations in Ontario. Previous research has identified unpaid overtime work performed by social workers as an ongoing labour issue. For example, Baines, MacKenzie Davis, & Saini (2009) found that 71% of social workers surveyed were ‘donating’ one-six hours of time to their jobs a day. Institutional ethnography is used as a theoretical and methodological framework for this inquiry. Accordingly, this research project focuses on uncovering knowledge about the social organization of unpaid overtime work. This knowledge may be useful for those seeking to make specific changes to the organization of the work of social workers to further prevent or eliminate unpaid overtime work. During this study, three Ontario social workers were interviewed about their jobs and unpaid overtime, and provided further written information over email. One particular account of a problematic, or topic for IE research, was not formulated in this thesis as originally intended. However, three accounts of the everyday experience of unpaid overtime work of social workers are presented and could each be used to formulate a problematic for future IE research into this topic. Potential threads of ruling which are visible in the local setting are discussed, with particular emphasis on the ruling relations of non-payment of overtime work. Other potential threads of ruling identified and discussed include the social organization of ‘an endless workload’ and the social organization of social work ethics. Thesis Master of Social Work (MSW) Recent research in Ontario has demonstrated that many social workers who work for non-profit organizations such as government social services or community-based non-profits regularly perform unpaid overtime work. The objective of this study was to understand more about how social workers come to work unpaid overtime hours at their jobs in non-profit social service organizations. To accomplish this, Institutional Ethnography (IE) was used as a theoretical and methodological framework for research. IE is a critical sociology which is used to uncover the social organization of a part of every day life, rather than knowledge about the people who experience it. Studying this research topic contributes to the knowledge of those seeking improved labour justice for social workers. The information discovered in the course of this research about how unpaid overtime work comes to happen for social workers can be useful for those trying to change and prevent unpaid overtime work.

The purpose of this study is to explore how intimate partner femicide (IPF) has impacted one family. IPF is well researched and studies are largely centered on indicators of intimate partner violence (IFV) and the impacts of children witnessing violence. There is very little research conducted with family members exploring how they are impacted by the violent death of their loved one. This study concentrates on the impacts experienced by one family who has suffered the loss of a loved one due to intimate partner femicide. This study was conducted via a series of interviews with Gail, who lost her sister. Due to the nature and intensity of the subject matter no other family members were contacted. Our first interview was in person and took place in central Ontario, several hours away from where her sister was killed. I conducted further interviews by phone to obtain additional understanding about her experiences of the loss of her sister. I used feminist theory to explore the dynamics in the victim’s relationship prior to her death. Feminist theory was used because it explores the power imbalances that exist in relationships. This revealed a cycle of violence that existed in her intimate relationship and the challenges this woman faced in her attempts to leave her relationship. As a result of her sister’s death Gail and her children have been very deeply affected. Through a thematic analysis of the data, four main themes emerged: 1) the victim feared for her own safety pre and post relationship; and the family were afraid once the woman went missing; 2) the family members faced and continue to face mental health challenges including a very young child suffering with suicide ideations, depression, and anxiety; 3) ways of coping included concealment of emotions and the use of non-medicinal methods of healing trauma; 4) Gail felt guilty that she did not do enough to help keep her sister safe but eventually coming to the realization that she did as much as could be done. Family stress theory is another important theory used to understand and make sense of Gail’s experiences of femicide. Family stress theory refers to multiple stressors as a “pile up”, a stage that Gail encountered when she struggled with depression, anxiety and financial struggles after taking time off work to care for her own children and grandchildren, resulting from Gail’s daughter’s own mental health breakdown which she sees as tied to the families experience of femicide. Of the many things that came from this study I found the most striking was talk of the “new normal” created as a result of the femicide. The new normal has impacted the whole family as they adjust to life without the one person who was central in bringing the family together to celebrate family events. These gatherings no longer take place. When they do half the family does not participate due in part to their ongoing grief and anger over their loss that their sister is no longer present. These findings of my study bring further attention to the continued struggles and impact that IPF has on families. It highlights that there is still much work to be done to put an end to this heinous crime. Thesis Master of Social Work (MSW)

There are a number of processes at play within the child welfare and healthcare systems that have the potential to be othering and stigmatizing for people (Pollack, 2010; Snowden, 2003; van Ryn, 2003). These stigmatizing practices are compounded and made all the more complex when the child welfare and healthcare systems operate simultaneously in people’s lives. Despite this, there appears to be limited research about the interplay between the child welfare and healthcare systems in producing stigma, in spite of how closely and recurrently these structures interact and work with one another. This study investigates the interaction of stigmatizing processes and practices at play between Brant Family and Children’s Services and the Brantford General Hospital. Specifically, it explores, from the viewpoint of child welfare staff, the experiences of new mothers receiving perinatal care at this hospital, who are also clients of Brant Family and Children’s Services. This study employs a critical social work framework, coupled with elements of intersectionality and a social justice lens. An eclectic methodological approach was used, integrating tenets of critical and interpretive social science research, and a narrative approach. Four semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with child protection staff employed at Brant Family and Children’s Services, with six major themes identified, including: the exclusion of mothers within the hospital setting, issues with Brant FACS’ birth alert documentation, and the paradoxical ways in which stigma can operate in the lives of new mothers receiving care at this hospital. These themes are explored and future directions and recommendations are discussed. Suggestions are also made in terms of how these organizations can begin to address the practices at play between both systems that unfortunately, appear to harmfully impact on mothers who are involved with Brant Family and Children’s Services, and receiving perinatal care at the Brantford General Hospital. Thesis Master of Social Work (MSW)