Social Service Workforce Strengthening

A strong social service workforce is critical to meeting the needs of children without adequate family care. From government policy-makers, local administrators, researchers and social workers, to educators, community workers and care providers, social service actors play a key role in protecting girls and boys and promoting their care.

The development of a skilled and well-supported social service workforce is particularly important as countries move toward reforming their care systems and work to reduce reliance on residential care, strengthen families, prevent separation and promote family and community-based alternative care options. This is a challenging undertaking that requires social service actors from national to community level who are competent and willing to make changes to the way they deliver care, and are able to establish and manage a new range of preventive and responsive care services to children and families.

Strengthening the social service workforce in any country is complex. It involves creating supportive legislation and policies; developing recruitment, selection, employment, supervision, support and registration procedures; establishing education and training programmes; improving working conditions, ensuring licensing and practice standards; recognizing the status of care professionals; and raising awareness to change mindsets on care.

All of this requires working with a wide range of actors involved in supporting children and families. Substantial allocation (or redirection) of financial resources is also required, to ensure that sufficient numbers of skilled social service workers are available to work directly with children and their families at the community level, as well as at a higher administrative level to oversee care services and regulations.

This section contains documentation of social service workforce development within the context of national care reform and child protection system strengthening, including guidance, lessons learned and training tools.

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Core Elements of Success in OVC Care: Self-Assessment Tool

Christian Alliance for Orphans, 2019

This self-review helps organizational and program leaders evaluate, learn, and report on their organization's overall health, open to any organization working with vulnerable children in international contexts.

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Culturally Responsive Social Work Practice in Uganda: A Review of Selected Innovative and Indigenous Models

Ronald Luwangula, Janestic M. Twikirize, Justus Twesigye and Stanley Kitimbo - Social Work Practice in Africa: Indigenous and Innovative Approaches, 2019

This chapter from Social Work Practice in Africa: Indigenous and Innovative Approaches showcases examples of home-grown indigenous and innovative models of social work practice in Uganda, including local models for addressing the HIV/AIDS orphan crisis in Rakai district.

Social Service Workforce Mapping Toolkit

Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, 2019

The purpose of this toolkit is to guide participatory, national level analyses of the social service workforce.

The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work, 1st Edition

Edited by Stephen A. Webb, 2019

The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work brings together the world’s leading scholars in the field to provide a cutting-edge overview of classic and current research and future trends in the subject.

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An exploration of social worker relationships, roles and the wellbeing of children in long-term care

Cartwright, Mim - University of Bristol, 2019

This study explores the social work role with children in long-term care, focusing on how relationships between children and social workers can support wellbeing.

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Promising practices - strengthening families and systems to prevent and reduce the institutional care of children

Karen Flanagan - Modern Day Slavery and Orphanage Tourism, 2019

This chapter from the book Modern Day Slavery and Orphanage Tourism highlights promising practice which aims to prevent and reduce the institutionalization of children at two levels: (1) systems and social work strengthening, and (2) family strengthening and gatekeeping.

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Children in care: Spending time in institutions causes overwhelming harm to children. How can we build alternatives?

Apolitical, 2019

This field guide, produced by Apolitical in partnership with Hope and Homes for Children, is designed to help public servants understand the issue of children in care. It covers the following learning objectives: (1) Understand why experts say institutional care is harmful to children, (2) Learn about deinstitutionalisation and new approaches to replace institutions and prevent family separation, and (3) Learn about interventions that have improved outcomes for kids who do experience care.

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Health prevention training for foster child care facility personnel

María E. Serra and Rose Mari Soria - Arch Argent Pediatr, 2019

In this article, the experience, difficulties and perspectives of the first health training program for foster child care facilities personnel in Argentina are presented.

Ethnic matching: A two-state comparison of child welfare workers' attitudes

David Chenot, Amy D. Benton, Michelle Iglesias, Ioakim Boutakidis - Children and Youth Services Review, 08 Dec 2018

The purpose of this study is to explore child welfare workers' perspectives on ethnic matching in child welfare service delivery.

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The next chapter: a practical guide for individuals, families, communities, social workers, and organizations supporting indigenous youth aging-out of care

Mahikwa, Robert - University of Victoria, 07 Dec 2018

This research utilized Indigenous methodologies rooted in oral traditions, storytelling practices, and the Medicine Wheel teachings to examine how individuals, families, communities, social workers, and organizations can assist Indigenous youth who are aging-out of foster care and are transitioning into adulthood.