NCJ Number
248477
Date Published
2014
Length
84 pages
Annotation
This handbook on building resiliency in staff and volunteers who work with victims of child abuse was developed by the Resiliency Project, which engaged researchers, educators, and practitioners from the child abuse field in a collaborative effort to develop, implement, and evaluate an organizationally based program to build resiliency in staff and volunteers at 12 pilot sites that worked with child abuse cases.
Abstract
The guide begins with profiles of each pilot site, demonstrating that each organization entered the project with a commitment to help their workers build resiliency under the stress of serving child abuse victims. The project descriptions conclude with a discussion of the impact the project had on each organization, and tips are offered for those agencies who choose to take this same journey. The proposed organizational resiliency model contains five core elements. Staff members and volunteers who are resilient have strengths in each of the five core elements. These five core elements are self- knowledge and insight, a sense of hope, healthy coping, strong relationships, and personal perspective and meaning. The guide devotes a section to each one of these five core elements of resiliency. Each section opens with reflections from the resiliency coaches about their experiences in working with the core element and the priorities for developing the core element by an organization. Strategies are indicated on charts as a policy, supervisory technique, and/or competency-based training. Some large group events or activities are also included under competency-based training. A total of 25 activities and resources are described in this handbook.