Responding to Intimate Partner Violence within Child Protective Services: Potential Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing the Myplan Intervention

Background & Purpose: Intimate partner violence (IPV) commonly intersects with child maltreatment. Although child protective services (CPS) workers often encounter IPV, they have limited tools to facilitate IPV assessment and intervention. myPlan, an evidence-based IPV intervention, could help better identify and connect CPS-involved families to IPV services and, thereby, help to prevent or reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect. It could also help minimize IPV risk, leading to improved family functioning and increasing chances of keeping children at home and maintaining their safety. We explored potential barriers and facilitators to implementing myPlan within CPS from CPS caseworkers’ perspectives. This study will help understand the feasibility of using myPlan to improve CPS’ ability to identify IPV and link families to appropriate IPV services.

Methods: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 27 CPS caseworkers from the Arizona Department of Child Safety between June and October 2022. Interviews lasted 60-90 minutes and included a brief pre-interview questionnaire, a myPlan walk-through, and open-ended questions about the feasibility of using the myPlan intervention in CPS practice. Interviews were audio-recorded, professionally transcribed, and de-identified. Three independent coders analyzed the transcripts using an inductive thematic approach. Coding disagreements were resolved through consensus, and an audit trail was maintained to enhance reliability.

Results: Most caseworkers provided ongoing services (44.4%) to families with children in out-of-home care or were investigators (37.0%). The average age was 35.15 (SD=10.74), and most participants identified as female (85.2%). Approximately half (51.9%) identified as White, 33.3% Hispanic or Latina/o, 11.1% Black or African American, and 3.7% Middle Eastern. Regarding work experience, 44.4% worked in CPS for 5 to 9 years, 33.3% for 2 to 4 years, and 22.2% for less than 2 years. The majority of respondents (70.4% often, 18.5% sometimes) reported encountering IPV in their work. While over half received IPV training, either through their agency’s in-service training (77.8%) or externally (59.3%), only 7.4% felt “very knowledgeable” about IPV interventions.

Four themes emerged from the interviews: IPV Assessment, CPS Practice, IPV Resources, and IPV Knowledge and Awareness. Caseworkers expressed myPlan could help them adequately assess IPV, meet the needs of their clients, fulfill their job responsibilities, refer clients to community-based IPV services, and achieve positive case outcomes related to child safety and permanency. However, participants also identified barriers related to client safety, culture, demographics, and engagement. They shared concerns about myPlan increasing their workload and limited IPV resources both within and outside of CPS. They also reported trepidation regarding limited IPV knowledge among caseworkers and their clients.

Conclusions & Implications: myPlan may help CPS caseworkers identify IPV and link families to IPV services and, in turn, better safety and well-being outcomes among CPS clients experiencing IPV. However, CPS caseworkers may initially encounter challenges to implementing myPlan, such as resistance from clients due to fear or distrust, increased workload, and limited IPV training. External barriers also exist, such as limited community-based IPV services and funding. Such challenges may be overcome with additional training, shifts in practice and policy, and cross-system collaboration.