Parents frequently do not engage in child welfare services. A lack of engagement can lead to significant negative consequences for families. A relationship between psychological reactance and engagement in the context of child welfare work has been theorized but not examined empirically. This paper presents the results of a preliminary descriptive study (N = 43) which found a significant negative relationship (r = −0.277, P < 0.05) between individual reactance levels and levels of engagement in child welfare services. A four‐dimension measure of engagement was used. Significant relationships were found between reactance and the dimensions of working relationship (r = −0.260, P < −0.05) and mistrust (r = 0.340, P < 0.05) and a similar trend was seen with a third dimension, receptivity (r = −0.245, P = 0.056). There was no significant relationship between reactance and the fourth dimension, buy‐in. The implications of these findings for child welfare work are explored.