Creating work environments where team members feel safe to share ideas, ask questions, and voice concerns is crucial for promoting both individual and collective success. Managers can embrace key strategies for supporting staff well-being, reducing burnout, and building a culture of resilience. Learn more about how psychological safety and well-being can be integrated into the work environment to foster positive, sustainable changes in organizations.

Psychological Safety: A Cornerstone of Team Development

Psychological safety refers to an environment where individuals feel confident raising challenges, sharing differences of opinion, and presenting new ideas without fear of negative repercussions. Drawing from the influential work of Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is seen as a dynamic factor in team development, crucial especially for new hires who may feel uncertain or apprehensive in their roles.

In organizations where psychological safety is prioritized, staff feel empowered to engage more openly, leading to more creative solutions, innovative thinking, and a general atmosphere of trust. This openness is critical in the early stages of team development and helps establish a foundation for long-term success.

The Benefits of Psychological Safety

The benefits of fostering psychological safety extend beyond just team development. Many studies and real-world examples demonstrate that organizations with cultures of psychological safety experience lower turnover rates, greater employee satisfaction, and improved performance. Employees in these environments are more likely to be motivated, curious, and productive, creating a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

Additionally, high levels of psychological safety have been linked to fewer critical incidents in high-stakes fields, such as public safety, where individuals must communicate effectively under pressure. This highlights the importance of trust and psychological well-being not just in creative sectors but in those where safety and precision are paramount.

The Challenges of Building Psychological Safety

Despite its numerous advantages, psychological safety is not always easy to cultivate. One major challenge is that many organizations prioritize quantitative metrics, such as financial performance or productivity, over qualitative factors like psychological safety. Building a safe environment requires patience, intentionality, and a willingness to embrace mistakes and errors as part of the learning process.

Moreover, many organizations focus heavily on external outcomes, neglecting the human elements that contribute to a thriving workplace. Developing a culture of psychological safety takes time, but its benefits are undeniable and far-reaching.

Supporting Staff During Times of Change and Uncertainty

Change is inevitable in any organization, and with it often comes uncertainty and stress. During periods of transition, leaders must ensure that a supportive workplace culture remains intact.

Key strategies include:

Additionally, promoting mental health awareness and work-life balance is essential. There are many ways this can be achieved, such as through flexible work arrangements, offering employees a voice in workplace policy decisions, and ensuring sufficient staffing levels to prevent overwhelm.

Reducing Burnout and Strengthening Emotional Well-being

Burnout is one of the most significant challenges facing modern organizations. To combat burnout, leaders must ensure employees have access to mental health resources, normalize conversations about mental health, and provide policies that promote wellness.

Ensuring staff have paid time off (PTO), manageable workloads, and realistic expectations around overtime are vital components in reducing stress. Furthermore, encouraging boundaries between work and personal life, offering remote work options, and allowing for compressed work schedules can go a long way in mitigating burnout and strengthening emotional resilience within teams.

Much of the time in the human and social services sector, staff are empathetic. It can be difficult not to become an ‘absorber’ at work and in life outside of work, which is still happening at the same time.

Addressing Trauma in the Workplace

Workplaces must also be sensitive to trauma, whether it is personal, caused by internal challenges, or vicarious trauma experienced by direct service staff. A trauma-informed culture, where mental health is prioritized, helps create an atmosphere of support and healing. Leaders should be aware of signs of distress among employees and act proactively to create safe spaces for individuals to express their struggles.

Approaching these conversations from a strengths-based perspective—recognizing staff achievements and offering meaningful support—is key in helping those who may be experiencing trauma. A compassionate, understanding leadership approach can significantly impact an employee’s ability to recover and thrive.

Building Relationships and Embracing Differences

One of the simplest yet most effective ways to foster psychological safety is by building strong, authentic relationships within teams. Leaders and colleagues should take time to understand each other’s preferences, communicate openly, and show interest in each other’s perspectives. By embracing differences, whether cultural, generational, or personal, organizations can create a more inclusive environment where everyone feels valued.

Taking a curiosity-driven approach to building relationships, and allowing room for grace in interactions, strengthens the organizational culture and encourages greater collaboration and mutual respect.

Social Current Offers Resources for Organizational Success

Creating psychologically safe environments is not only beneficial for individual well-being, but also for organizational success.

By prioritizing psychological safety, supporting staff well-being, and reducing burnout, organizations can foster a culture of trust, resilience, and productivity. Leaders who embrace these strategies will not only see improved outcomes for their teams but will also contribute to building a healthier, more supportive workplace culture for the long term.

For tangible strategies you can implement immediately, join our Workforce Well-Being and Resilience During Times of Change training series, beginning March 26. You may also contact us for consultation support.

To learn more about Social Current’s work to strengthen child, family, and community well-being, visit our impact area page.

The social sector is at a critical juncture, grappling with persistent workforce challenges that impact both the effectiveness of organizations and the well-being of employees. From inadequate wages and growing financial hardship for many nonprofit workers, to the increasing difficulty of filling key leadership roles, nonprofits face a host of obstacles that threaten their ability to support their communities.

As the sector confronts a rising mental health crisis and workforce shortages, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions that address these issues while fostering a resilient, well-supported workforce. Join Social Current’s four-part Workforce Well-Being and Resilience webinar series, beginning in March, for insights to healthy and resilient organizational culture.

This article explores the current workforce trends within the social sector, highlighting key challenges and offering insights into strategies for navigating these complexities in 2025 and beyond.

Nonprofits are struggling to pay competitive wages and many social sector employees face financial hardship.

According to the latest ALICE Report from Independent Sector, 22% of nonprofit employees are earning below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold and are struggling financially. Inequities of the general workforce play out in the nonprofit realm as well: 34% of Black nonprofit employees and 35% of Hispanic nonprofit employees are facing financial hardship. Women, despite making up two-thirds of the nonprofit workforce, are paid significantly less than men in the sector.

We must continue to advocate for social sector funding models that cover the true costs of operations, including competitive, livable wages for all social sector employees. Social Current is leading the social impact work that is inspired by the movie UnCharitable. The effort will address this chronic underfunding in the social sector and ensure adequate resources to meet our communities’ needs while also driving sector innovation and growth.

Workforce shortages continue to impede nonprofit progress and innovation.

We’ll continue to see nonprofit staffing shortages in 2025, particularly in leadership positions. According to a recent report from PNP Staffing Group, almost 1 in 3 nonprofits struggle with retention and turnover and 59% of nonprofits said it was significantly harder to fill staff positions in 2024 than in previous years. This trend will most likely continue into the new year, as 55% of nonprofit organizations cite the inability to offer competitive salaries as a significant challenge.

Source: PNP Staffing Group. (2024). 2024 Nonprofit salaries and staffing trends.

The outlook for mental health care in particular shows a significant gap, with position openings projected to grow at triple the rate of all occupations over the next decade. Need is even higher in rural areas across the U.S. where approximately 122 million people do not have access to mental health services. In fact, roughly 27 million Americans with a mental illness are not receiving treatment. Mental Health organizations specializing in youth care face an even greater workforce deficit: In 70% of U.S. counties, there are no child or young adult psychiatrists and only 20% of children with mental health disorders receive the care they need from a specialized mental health provider.

Leadership gaps reveal inequities and barriers to advancement.

Interest in nonprofit leadership positions is also declining. A recent survey by the Building Movement Project shows that there has been a steady decline in interest in top leadership roles. In 2016, 50% of white and 40% of BIPOC respondents were interested in these roles whereas in 2022 this fell to 46% for white and 32% for BIPOC respondents. Though the nonprofit leadership pipeline crisis has been growing for decades, the pandemic exacerbated the issue with high turnover, burnout, and early retirements at the leadership level. Our sector is at a critical moment. We must address the barriers to leadership pipelines, including lack of mentorship and support opportunities, particularly for leaders of color, eschew rigid job requirements, and proactively address burnout and inadequate salaries, if we want to close these gaps in 2025.

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Social Current has partnered with the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) on the “Equip the Flip” initiative. This initiative seeks to create a new leadership framework that can support leaders by addressing structural racism, shifting power to authentically center community voices, and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across the sector. Through focus groups, story gathering, and a review of the literature and lived experiences, we have been able to map the next generation of leadership competencies for human service leaders – keeping them actionable and human-centered. The competencies developed from the Equip the Flip initiative show that social sector leaders need development in the following skillsets:

Learn more about the Equip the Flip initiative online.

Organizations are prioritizing employee mental health due to increasing rates of burnout.

The most recent State of Nonprofits Survey from the Center for Effective Philanthropy reveals that 95% of nonprofit CEOs are concerned about burnout at their organization and over 50% of those CEOs reported feeling more burnout themselves than in previous years. In Mental Health America’s recent Mind the Workplace Report, Millennials and Gen-Z had the worst work mental health scores, with 59% and 71% reporting unhealthy scores, respectively.

In 2025, support your nonprofit workplace with best practices in workforce resilience and employee wellness. In addition to paying living wages and comprehensive benefits packages, offer paid time off to encourage rest and rejuvenation, offer flexible and/or less than 40-hour work week schedules, create a resilient culture by training staff on trauma-informed workplace approaches, and allocate protected time for professional growth and development.

PQI: Nonprofits are developing and updating their PQI Models to stay sustainable and mission oriented.

The term VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) is over 30 years old, and yet it is increasingly resurfacing in recent business articles and blogs as we face a very VUCA political landscape to start out 2025. VUCA in the social sector field is the new constant and nonprofits must stay agile and change-ready.

When it comes to program evaluation and continuous improvement, nonprofits are updating their Performance & Quality Improvement (PQI) strategies to be more flexible, dynamic, and gather real-time feedback for swift course correction. PQI models provide a structured approach to evaluating programs, identifying areas for improvement, and driving evidence-based decision making to improve organizational outcomes. By tracking key performance indicators and analyzing data, nonprofits can make informed decisions about resource allocation, staff training, and program design. This data-driven approach helps nonprofits demonstrate accountability to funders, donors, and the community, while also fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Check out Social Current’s webinars to design or update your own PQI plan: Introduction to Logic Models and Logic Models 2.0: Connecting Program to Action.

Partnering with Social Cooperatives: Nonprofits are promoting worker co-ops through incubation.

Another growing workforce resilience trend is an increase in partnerships between established nonprofits and worker cooperatives. Over the past 50 years, social cooperative workplace models have been on the rise. This model deconstructs traditional hierarchical organization models in favor of worker voice and participation. This typically takes the form of equal (or more equitable) distribution of profit and shareholder power. To facilitate this rise, nonprofit organizations have stepped in to incubate social cooperatives that support marginalized communities by providing funding, staff, support, and resources to launch and develop fledgling worker cooperatives. This promising partnership model combines the social mission of nonprofits with the economic benefits of cooperatives. The U.S. could accelerate the development of a more equitable and sustainable economy by following the social cooperative models of countries such as France, Italy, and the U.K., that provide legal recognition and tax incentives for social cooperatives.  To learn more, check out our Social Collaborative & Nonprofit Partnerships resource handout from the Social Current Knowledge and Insights Center.

Social Current is Here to Help you Navigate Workforce Trends

We recognize that staff at nonprofit organizations are facing change, stress, and conflict on multiple levels. Political polarization, isolation, and vicarious trauma are contributing to staff feeling drained and disengaged. Our Workforce Wellbeing & Resilience During Times of Change Learning Series is a great place to develop crucial competencies that will help your workforce thrive.

This four-part webinar series will equip leaders and supervisors with foundational knowledge and skills to help their teams manage uncertainty and interpersonal conflict so they can create a healthy and resilient organizational culture. To empower their staff, participants will learn about core strategies and tactics that are based in brain science research and trauma-informed approaches.

Sessions in this series:

To go even deeper, Social Current offers consulting with workforce resilience experts, train-the-trainer opportunities, in-depth in-person training, and more to strengthen your workplace culture. Learn more about our expertise and solutions.

Success in today’s business world is often measured in numbers—productivity rates, operating margins, and outcomes. But what if the key to sustainability and growth lies not in traditional metrics, but in how well an organization understands and responds to the well-being of their employees? Trauma-informed care (TIC) has long been applied to clients and patients in treatment settings. However, it is not just a compassionate approach; it’s a strategic focus that transforms workplaces into environments where psychological safety drives innovation, loyalty, and stronger outcomes. This is the business of healing—a new paradigm in organizational strategy.

Trauma-informed care has traditionally focused on understanding the client or patient’s history to develop effective treatment plans. However, through the work of Children & Families First Delaware’s Brain Science Training Institute, we see greater opportunity for impact. We have found that staff also experience adverse events and struggle with their own mental health concerns. This is consistent with the data, with nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults experiencing one or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and one in five living with a mental health concern. Recognizing and addressing the well-being of staff, and building their resilience, supports a stronger workforce. Staff often feel validated and express gratitude when their organization acknowledges the importance of trauma-informed care in their training programs. While staff naturally want their well-being to be valued, from an organizational perspective, having regulated and supported staff leads to fewer mistakes, better project planning and implementation, and a more measured response to workplace stressors.

The traditional model of trauma-informed care views it as a linear journey from being trauma-aware to trauma-sensitive, responsive, and finally trauma-informed. However, our consultations have revealed that organizations don’t fit neatly into these categories. We assess various aspects during our consultation process, such as staff development, wellness, physical environment, policies, and client services. Often, an organization may be responsive in some areas, while only aware or sensitive in others. Conducting a comprehensive assessment helps identify key action points. However, it is clear that everyone—from administrative staff to facilities and finance—needs training. Leadership is crucial to this journey as well, as many TIC initiatives require their approval and implementation. Without leadership’s commitment, the success of TIC efforts will be limited.

“How do I balance compassion with accountability?” is a common and valid concern when discussing trauma-informed care in the workplace. Trauma-informed care is not about leniency; it’s about mutual accountability—holding both staff and leadership responsible for creating a respectful and supportive environment. In a trauma-informed organization, values and principles guide every interaction, not just with clients or consumers, but within the team. Leaders embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth, foster open dialogue, and create space for tough conversations. From the outset, clear boundaries and role expectations are established, ensuring transparency. When performance concerns arise, goals are explored collaboratively, and issues are addressed constructively to promote both individual and organizational growth.

To truly embrace this paradigm, leaders must ask themselves some crucial questions:

These questions are essential for shaping a strategy that ensures staff feel supported and valued as integral parts of the organization.

At the Brain Science Training Institute at Children & Families First, we believe the well-being of staff is the cornerstone of organizational success. Our comprehensive training and consultation services are designed to support organizations in implementing trauma-informed care practices that foster a supportive and innovative workplace. Whether you are in the social service sector or any other industry, a trauma-informed approach can transform your organization into a place where every team member feels values. Contact us today to learn about how the Brain Science Training Institute can support your journey.

CFF is the winner of Social Current’s 2024 Innovative Impact Award. To learn more, read our article and watch their video interview.

About the Authors

Kiera McGillivray, LMFT
Kiera McGillivray is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and serves as the chief program officer for school-based initiatives at Children & Families First Delaware. Kiera is trained in several trauma-focused modalities including Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Trauma-Informed Yoga, Trauma Focused Expressive Arts Therapy, and Child-Centered Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis. Kiera has been published in internationally peer-reviewed journals on the topics of trauma and child development, and has presented on topics such as trauma, resilience, and ethics to diverse audiences, including military personnel, clinicians, educators, law enforcement, and victim service professionals. She is a graduate of Social Current’s Executive Leadership Institute. Kiera serves as a clinical supervisor and co-director of the Brain Science Training Institute.

Shannon Fisch, LCSW
Shannon Fisch is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Delaware and is the director of operations and risk management for Children & Families First Delaware. She received her post-graduate certification in trauma from Widener University, received her nonprofit management certification from University of Delaware, and graduated from Social Current’s Executive Leadership Institute. Shannon is trained in several evidence-based treatment models, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT). She is an avid volunteer in her profession, previously serving as president, secretary, and treasurer for the National Association of Social Workers – Delaware Chapter. Shannon is also a clinical supervisor and co-director of the Brain Science Training Institute.

Social Current’s Knowledge and Insights Center is now offering access to the Next Big Idea Club. This virtual book club, curated by bestselling authors Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink, delivers the most important nonfiction books of the year. Through our online forum, you can dive deep into impactful ideas with 45-minute audio and video lessons. These lessons distill the essence of groundbreaking books, offering you a comprehensive understanding in a fraction of the time.

Social Current’s access includes highlights from the Next Big Idea Club’s collection of books, with a particular emphasis on:

In this forum, featuring lessons from the books below, you’ll learn strategies and techniques that improve relationships with coworkers, clients, community members, and partners, in addition to your personal relationships away from work.

Access to the Next Big Idea Club is an exclusive benefit for Social Current Impact Partners.

Learn more about the benefits of becoming an Impact Partner online and by joining an upcoming informational webinar.

How to Access

Go to Next Big Idea Club: Better Relationships In and Out of the Workplace.

Social Current Impact Partners can access these lessons for free by logging into the hub. Log in to your existing account or create one if you are a new user. Once logged in, check out the resources list and click on the individual records to view.

Learn more about the Social Current Knowledge and Insights Center.

According to OSHA’s 2019 statistics, “healthcare and social assistance workers in private industry experienced workplace-violence-related injuries at an estimated incidence rate of 10.4 per 10,000 full-time workers – for a total of 14,550 nonfatal injuries.” The rates are even higher for psychiatric, substance abuse, and residential mental health care facilities. Despite these staggering statistics, OSHA does not have a specific standard on workplace violence for employers. Currently, the General Duty Clause found in Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH ACT of 1970 is enforced in situations involving workplace violence. Most citations issued by OSHA’s compliance officers due to workplace violence typically involve the health care industry.

This has led OSHA to focus on the early development stages of a new workplace violence standard. In March 2023, OSHA called together a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel. They received representation from organizations in industry sectors such as hospitals, residential behavioral health facilities, residential care facilities, home health care, emergency medical services, social assistance, correctional health settings, ambulatory mental health care, ambulatory substance abuse treatment centers, and freestanding emergency centers. OSHA identified potential topics in the draft standard to be considered by the panel, including:

While the exact rollout date of the new standard is unknown at this time, employers can proactively begin evaluating their organization’s current prevention program. The following measures can be implemented or reviewed for effectiveness:

Written Procedures: Organizations should begin by developing a policy on workplace violence containing zero tolerance. The policy can be a standalone policy, part of the organization’s safety manual, or it can become part of the employee handbook. The policy should begin by expressing management’s commitment, as well as stressing the importance of employee participation. Other items to be included in the written policy include hazard identification, hazard prevention and control, training, and recordkeeping.

Hazard Assessment: Consider all possible hazards that may lead to an instance of workplace violence, including recent terminations that may have been particularly difficult. Conduct a walkthrough inspection of your facility and grounds to determine the security of all entry points. Are doors left propped open during breaks? Are windows latched and locked? What areas need further securement?

Physical Controls: These are referred to as ‘engineering’ or physical controls used to reduce or eliminate workplace violence hazards:

Administrative Controls:

For more information and helpful resources, OSHA provides guidance on workplace violence prevention programs, or please reach out to Lisa Bellis, senior vice president of risk management & loss control at Brown & Brown, at 610-348-7986.

Social Current’s Strategic Industry Partners, like Brown & Brown, offer specialized products or services that benefit our network. To learn more about partnering with Social Current, contact us.

A recent study from Deloitte Research Center revealed workforce well-being has continued to decline since last year, leaving more employees feeling exhausted (52%), stressed (49%), and overwhelmed (43%). In fact, a significant percentage of employees say their job has negatively impacted their physical (33%), mental (40%), and social (21%) well-being.

“Executives have an opportunity to rewrite this story—for their employees, for their managers, and also for themselves. Work shouldn’t be the reason people feel exhausted, stressed, and isolated from friends and family,” notes this article about the study. “Employees should feel that they’re able to take time off and disconnect, and managers should feel capable of providing the support their team members need.”

Despite these alarming trends, the study also identifies solutions for supporting a healthy, thriving workforce:

“Human sustainability” is defined by the study as the “creation of value for current and future workers and, more broadly, human beings and society.” According to Deloitte, 82% of employees report they would be more likely to take a job that is advancing human sustainability.

Though working in human services can be particularly challenging, organizations can tap into people’s desire to be connected to a greater societal purpose by keeping them connected with and engaged in their mission and impact.

How Social Current’s Work Aligns with Findings

Social Current’s workforce resilience approach is based on four core learning concepts that are deeply rooted in equity and brain science for long-term organizational impact. This approach works to enhance and embed human sustainability at the individual, organizational, and collective levels by:

Advancing Brain Science and Regulation

Deloitte’s study revealed a lack of capacity for workers, managers, and executives to accomplish their workloads while remaining accountable for their personal and organizational well-being. Social Current’s approach to workforce resilience uses brain science to offer tangible tools for increasing regulation, allowing for increased connection, accountability, and trust.

Building Psychological Safety

The practice of psychological safety is built into the workforce culture over time and requires leaders to respond to staff challenges by modeling authenticity, accountability, and compassion, creating space for sharing and listening. Deloitte’s study, however, revealed that although most managers (73%) believe they should be modeling healthy behavior, they do not feel empowered to do so (42%). Social Current’s experts provide guidance to empower organizational leaders to embrace and embody these concepts.

Prioritizing Positive Workplace Culture

This year, 60% of employees and 75% of executives were considering quitting their current jobs in search of better well-being outcomes. Resilience at work is highly dependent on a positive culture that reflects the organization’s stated values and beliefs. Social Current’s approach makes culture a priority to prevent and mitigate workforce concerns such as secondary traumatic stress and burnout.

Increasing Connection

Nearly a third of employees reported feeling like their manager did not care about their well-being in Deloitte’s study, and only 35% of managers reported being open about their well-being with their employees. We are hardwired for connection, and an organization is more likely to thrive when employees feel connected. Social Current’s approach models practices, such as frequent check-ins, peer mentors, normalizing discussions around mental health and EDI, and finding shared purpose to build meaningful connection.

If you are ready to take accountability for your organization’s workforce well-being, contact us to learn more about next steps, or register for our upcoming four-part “Building a Resilient Workforce” webinar series.

Social Current is dedicated to the growth and overall success of the social sector, and as workforce challenges continue to hinder human service organizations, we remain committed to offering solutions that will support staff and build resilience.  

In our upcoming learning series, “Building a Resilient Workforce,” Social Current experts will delve into core strategies and tactics for supporting staff, such as increasing accountability, managing conflict, nurturing relationships, embracing equity, and achieving excellence.  

Participants are sure to gain knowledge and tools to set them, and their organizations, up for success. From utilizing brain science in the workplace to fostering psychological safety to creating culture and community, this learning series will provide concrete action steps to support staff who are emotionally and physically exhausted.  

Join us for this four-part webinar series to ensure staff remain connected to the mission and vision of your organization. Register by Aug. 14 to receive the early bird rates, a savings of $15 on an individual webinar or $35 on the entire series. View full event details and register online:

Envision a workforce that feels stable, secure, and capable of thriving in the face of daily challenges. Learn more about our upcoming series and workforce resilience consulting services.

Strategic organizations are transformative organizations. They look beyond current experience to anticipate future trends and opportunities. They ask, “Why?” and evaluate answers within a future-oriented context. They expect to change.

Trendspotting and trend analysis can be powerful for strategic planning by creating credible illustrations of what the future might look like. Based on that, community-based organizations and their cross-sector partners can align community priorities and resources to help all people reach their full potential.

Incorporating a diversity of trends topics is particularly useful for creating a strategy where the end product is a long-term plan to be implemented over multiple years. Such plans aren’t just about identifying broad goals to be realized, but also key strategies for how the organization will meet those goals. 

Designing Useful Trend Inquiry

Core to trendspotting is research, and two types of research—primary and secondary—are best for identifying data that can inform activities like strategic planning, risk assessment, and opportunity mapping.

Primary research is firsthand research using methods like interviews with consumers and program participants, employees, community leaders and advocates, academic subject matter experts, regulators, policymakers, funders, and other stakeholders.

Secondary research uses available data and information found in reports and databases from diverse industries, which can be used as sources for trend determination. Examples can include demographics and other census tract information, local asset mapping, state and federal data (e.g., Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System [AFCARS]), and more.

The essential process of trend investigation is about asking the right questions about the right things. These can roughly be divided into three areas, with examples of questions below:

Getting the Most Out of Scenario Planning

Since no one can tell the future with 100% certainty all the time, developing robust scenarios can help bridge present circumstances with future requirements. The range and value of organizational opportunities based on trend analysis depend on scenarios that should include most of these criteria:

By evaluating relevant trends compiled through primary and secondary research and using the analysis to explore governance and operational scenarios, the ability to optimize programs and services and create achievable pathways to child and family well-being is strengthened.

Harnessing Trends

The Social Current Knowledge and Insights Center, available through our Impact Partnerships, helps professionals in human/social services to learn, improve, and innovate by providing timely, useful, and relevant information and resources. This is done by:

Professional librarians in the Knowledge and Insights Center routinely gather trends data on a variety of organizational topics, such as workforce resilience and service innovation, as well as meta trends that encompass demographics, systemic and environmental factors, technology, and more.

Hot Topics from 2022

Below are some of the key topics that have been monitored in 2022, with an insight summary, brief source examples, and related resources and offerings from Social Current:

Integration of Workforce Resilience as a Key Organizational Sustainability Strategy

Resilience is a buzzword and seen as necessary for workplaces. But can organizations improve employee resilience? Some think yes, others think no. “A resilience-oriented workforce spans many disciplines and training programs will need to reflect that. It requires a collaborative organizational model that promotes information sharing structures.”

Sources:

See Also:

Providers Increasingly Incorporating Social Determinants of Health in Service Delivery  

Social determinants of health (SDOH) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) profoundly impact lives of individuals. Both SDOH and ACEs are risk factors for childhood mental health disorders, health, and social outcomes. These factors include housing instability, food insecurity, poverty, community violence, and discrimination. There are ways to help address these risk factors, and this includes things like quality education, safe neighborhoods, and positive parent-child relationships.

Sources:  

See Also:

Biggest Public Health Threats to Teens Are Mental Health Disorders

Teenage pregnancy, smoking, binge drinking, drunken driving and smoking are no longer the biggest public health threats to teens. It is now rising rates of mental health disorders. With up to one in five children having a mental, emotional, development, or behavioral disorder, and rising rates of mental health visits in emergency rooms and depression symptoms rising during the pandemic, it is critical to pay attention to the mental health crisis in young people today.

Sources:  

See Also:

Post-Pandemic Mental Health Crises Driving Change to Suicide Prevention Strategies   

With rising rates of depression and anxiety compared to prior to the pandemic, the new U.S. suicide hotline 988 comes at a critical time. Suicide is a leading cause of death for people ages 10-34 years old, and 90% of those who died by suicide had a “diagnosable mental health condition at the time of their death.”

Sources:  

See Also:

Successful Mental Health Interventions Are More Dependent on Cultural Responsiveness     

Cultural competencies and cultural responsiveness for mental health providers is now seen as critical, even “a matter of life and death.”

Source:  

See Also:

Integrated Community and Systems Response Counteract School-to-Prison Pipeline  

The school-to-prison pipeline is a “disturbing national trend wherein youth are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal legal systems. Many of these youth are Black or Brown, have disabilities, or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional supports and resources. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.” 

Source:  

See Also:

Other top trends recently updated by the Knowledge and Insights Center:

How to Access Our Specialized Researchers & Tools

As you plan for 2023 and beyond, make sure you’re utilizing all the tools in your toolbox. Join our Dec. 7 webinar for an in-depth overview of the Knowledge and Insights Center. For more information on the resources portal, including the Ask-a-Librarian reference request service, visit the Social Current Hub or contact the Knowledge and Insights Center.

About the Knowledge and Insights Center

The Knowledge and Insights Center offers a robust resources portal through the Social Current Hub, which includes a digital library with over 22,000 records; aggregated research and business databases; diverse topic collections and library guides; original content summarizing complex information; and coaching that helps users maximize these resources. Our team includes professional librarians with wide-ranging skillsets and extensive experience in collection development specific to the nonprofit social services sector.

It’s hard to believe it has been one year since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic and our world, as we knew it, changed.

There have been many heroes of this pandemic–the health care workers who persevere through long hours, personal protective equipment shortages, and unimaginable tragedy; the teachers who transitioned to virtual learning and continue to inspire their students; and the many essential workers who went about their daily jobs delivering packages, serving meals, and fighting fires despite the pandemic raging around them.

There is also another category of unsung essential workers that deserve our recognition and our accolades–our nation’s social workers. March is designated as National Social Work Month and this year’s theme from the National Association of Social Workers is Social Workers Are Essential. 

Social workers are social heroes. They play a vital role in our communities–ensuring food availability, securing adoptions and forever homes, providing medical and behavioral health services, and helping ensure that all individuals and families have the opportunity to feel happy, healthy, and a sense of belonging.

Social workers connect communities to vital resources and in many cases, sit in roles where they address ongoing systemic and policy needs. They have had to adapt throughout this pandemic to continue to provide these services both virtually and in-person. And, with the spread of the pandemic, the need for social workers has grown even greater.

Across our nation, social workers have met these challenges in unique, creative, and heart-warming ways. At times putting aside their own needs and those of their families, social workers have offered essential care to people in need, whether dropping off food donations to families on fixed incomes, securing laptops and tablets to allow communications between seniors and their families, or advocating for state and federal policy to ensure people were cared for during this most critical time.

The demand for social services has dramatically increased while initially resources available to provide their services plummeted. Thankfully, with passage of the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act where social workers were active advocates, many of these challenges will be met. Midsize and larger social sector organizations who had been shut out of earlier relief funding will have access to critical support. The $350 billion in state and local funding will enable social sector organizations to continue critical partnerships with government to respond to the changing needs of communities. The child care sector, which has experienced tremendous disruption, enrollment drops, and extra costs, will see $40 billion in childcare stabilization funding. A new Child Tax Credit Expansion that economists predict will cut childhood poverty in half is included that will provide for the basic needs that enable all families to thrive.

These measures will have a tremendous impact on shoring up support for social workers who have done so much for our communities over the past year. These measures were also advanced by social workers, amidst all else required of them this past year. 

This March, let’s all celebrate the essential work of social workers who support individuals and families and answer their needs, not just in times of crisis, but every day.

Bridging Micro and Macro Social Work

Families and communities are stronger when they have access to the vital building blocks of health and well-being. Social work as a discipline and a methodology has been essential to the development and delivery of those building blocks and is most effective when grounded in the intersectionality of research, practice, and policy at individual, community, and systems levels. This bridging of micro and macro is what actualizes whole-person, whole-community aspirations into genuine and measurable impact. 

Learn more about these approaches in Families in Society, the Alliance and Council on Accreditation (COA) social work research journal. The articles featured below for this month’s observance demonstrate the essentialness of micro and macro social work. Alliance and COA network partners can access all 100+ years of journal content in the online library as part of their network benefits, while others can select access options on the journal website.