Child welfare professional education in trauma-informed care: a mixed-methods evaluation study

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dc.contributor.authorLotty, Maria
dc.contributor.authorFrederico, Margarita
dc.contributor.authorKearns, Noreen
dc.contributor.authorO'Shea, Tadgh
dc.contributor.funderTusla – Child and Family Agency
dc.date.accessioned2026-02-04T15:59:01Z
dc.date.available2026-02-04T15:59:01Z
dc.date.issued2026-01-30
dc.description.abstractChild welfare professionals require high-quality training to support them in carrying out their complex roles. Trauma-informed care is an approach identified that may improve child welfare standards of care. This paper describes a mixed-methods approach that was applied to evaluate a newly developed post-graduate–level trauma-informed care programme for child welfare professionals in Ireland. An outcome evaluation and process evaluation were integrated to capture a comprehensive understanding of the effects of the programme. Study participants were 41 child welfare professionals that included front-line practitioners, supervisors and senior managers working in the national child welfare and protection agency in Ireland. A convergent mixed-methods model with data integration was used. Coding matrix methods were employed to integrate data. Across component studies, convergence results were found for (1) programme acceptability and (2) dynamic learning acquisition, and complementary results were found for (1) changes in practice and (2) need for sustainability. This research provides support for the capacity building of child welfare professionals through the integration of trauma-informed practice with existing practices. The integrative findings are discussed in relation to effects and future implementation.en
dc.description.sponsorshipThis study was supported by Tusla, Child and Family Agency. This work is funded by Tusla—Child and Family Agency. Funders had no input into the collection, analysis and interpretation of data
dc.description.sponsorshipthe writing of the manuscript, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. We thank all the participants who were involved in this study. This study was supported by Tusla, Child and Family Agency.
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent9
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleide70101
dc.identifier.authororcidLotty, Maria§0000-0002-7809-6458
dc.identifier.authororcidFrederico, Margarita
dc.identifier.authororcidKearns, Noreen
dc.identifier.authororcidO'Shea, Tadgh
dc.identifier.citationLotty, M, Frederico, M, Kearns, N & O'Shea, T 2026, 'Child welfare professional education in trauma-informed care: a mixed-methods evaluation study', Child Abuse Review, vol. 35, no. 1, e70101. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.70101
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/car.70101
dc.identifier.issn0952-9136
dc.identifier.issued1
dc.identifier.journaltitleChild Abuse Review
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-7809-6458/work/204765867
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18506
dc.identifier.volume35
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherJohn Wiley and Sons Ltd
dc.relation.urihttps://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105028901371
dc.relation.urihttps://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ucc.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1002/car.70101
dc.rights© 2026 The Author(s). Child Abuse Review published by Association of Child Protection Professionals and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectChild Welfare Practice
dc.subjectTARA Project
dc.subjectTrauma-informed practice
dc.subject[SocialStudies]
dc.titleChild welfare professional education in trauma-informed care: a mixed-methods evaluation studyen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)
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