hree recent surveys of interest include the Harris Poll on "American Attitudes Toward Children," the Inter-Association Child Care Conference (IACCC) survey on child abuse conducted at the 1985 IACC Conference, and the survey of "Professional Child and Youth Care Work in the U.S. and Canada," from NOCCWA’s Research and Study Committee. These surveys express important information about how the American public and the child care profession view child and youth care issues.

The August, 1986 Harris Poll showed that:

• 74% of the American public think problems affecting children have gotten worse since they grew up

• Only 4% believe that most children are basically happy.

• Only 40% believe that American children get a good education.

• Only 36% believe that most children live in a safe neighborhood.

• 63% believe we spend too little effort on children’s problems.

• 54% believe that government is spending too little on programs for children.

• Only 28% say that the federal government is doing a good job of meeting its responsibilities

• Only 34% give local government a good rating.

The majority said they were willing to pay more taxes to fund children's programs.
Both parents and nonparents support increasing children’s services.

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The IACCC "Abuse Survey" explored child care workers’ perceptions of the incidence of abuse toward the children and youth with whom we work, and what is needed to deal more effectively with the problem. Survey findings include:

• 75% of respondents (N=175) were employed in residential programs and involved in the direct care of children.

• 10% reported having been abused as children (type of abuse not specified).

• 80% of the respondents estimated that 20% of the children in their care had at one time been abused prior to entering care.

• Two-thirds of the workers on-the-job reported having observed instances of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse of children.

• Men identified instances of emotional abuse (80%), physical abuse (12%), and sexual abuse (8%).

• Women identified instances of emotional abuse (40%), physical abuse (30%), and sexual abuse (30%).

• All workers reported needing more support in dealing with child abuse.

Needs identified for further training included:

• 65% want more information on how to support youth.

• 40% want more skill in recognizing abuse.

• 10% want a refocusing of the system on prevention and request specific training programs (e.g., dealing with victims).

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The survey of "Professional Child Work in the U.S. and child and youth care 20 states and three provinces. The survey respondents included NOCCWA members and their nonmember working colleagues. Findings included:

• Most popular job titles were CCW (49%), Counselor (7%), Houseparent (4%), and Youth Worker (4%).

• The primary roles of respondents were direct service (62%), administration (16%), education and training (8%), and supervision (5%).

• The average age was almost 34 years old.

• Females (61%) outnumbered males (39%).

• 77% of respondents were Caucasian, 15% Black, 4% other, 2% Native American, 1% Hispanic, 1% Asian.

• 71% of respondents held a bachelors degree, while 92% had at least some college.

• A master’s degree or at least some graduate work was reported by 29%.

• The average number of years respondents had worked in the field was 7.8 and the average length of stay at current place of employment was 4.8 years.

• 72% of respondents indicated they plan to be in the field three years from now.

• 47% of respondents worked in residential treatment settings.

Other employment environments were:

• group homes (17%),

• home and community (9%),

• schools (7%),

• psychiatric hospitals (6%),

• temporary shelter (5%),

• day care (5%),

• detention (2%), and

• corrections (1%).

70% of these agencies were private and 30% were public.
Average salary range was $13,000 to $13,999.
In-service training was provided by 74% of the respondents’ agencies.
The most popular method of training was outside conferences and workshops (78%), followed by regularly scheduled group in-service training (74%) and one-on-one individual supervision (47%).

Further analysis indicates that the child care field continues to broaden in membership and scope. The field is growing along the lines of other professions in which members teach and supervise each other. There remains a disproportionate number of minority child care workers to the percentage of minority children in placement, causing concern about cross-culturally compatible communication and modeling. Other issues needing further assistance include salaries, attracting minorities, and promoting the status of women in the profession.

This feature: Krueger, M. (1986)  Surveys of Interest to Child Care professionals. In Child Care Work. Vol. 3 No. 4. pp.6-7