CLIENT AND WORKER SATISFACTION IN A CHILD PROTECTION AGENCY

Client and staff satisfaction with the workings of a multidisciplinary child protection agency were investigated using interviews and standa rd questionnaires. The goal was to discover the nature and strength of the helping relationship between service-recipients and providers. Cu rrent clients (N = 24) expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the staff and services. The agency staff (N = 21, with 11 employed at lea st half-time to work directly with families) were relatively satisfied with their jobs, and showed little evidence of the burnout which has been recognized as a risk for child protection workers. They were able to relate empathically to clients and felt enthusiasm for the work. T aking account of possible bias in both sets of answers, there is still evidence that the agency is succeeding in creating a necessary precon dition for therapeutic change: the development of accepting and positi ve worker-client relationships.