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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Characterizing communication between transition-aged foster youth and their social workers

Sabrina M Richardson, Tuppett M Yates - Journal of Social Work, 08 Mar 2018

This study examined communication between 51 transition-aged foster youth and their social workers as related to perceived relationship quality and satisfaction with care receipt/provision.

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Integrating Indigenous approaches and relationship-based ethics for culturally safe interventions: Child protection in Solomon Islands

Lester J Thomspon, David Wadley - International Social Work, 07 Mar 2018

Through qualitative interviews with local child protection workers, this paper indicates that traditional values assist legislative intervention and that significant potential exists in better integration of Indigenous approaches into practice.

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Helping the helpers: Post-traumatic distress and need for help among Israeli social workers in foster care agencies following armed conflict

Miriam Schiff PhD, Rachel Dekel PhD, Ohad Gilbar MSW, Rami Benbenishty PhD - Child & Family Social Work, 06 Mar 2018

This study examined the associations between exposure to armed conflict, perceived support, work experience, needing help, and post-traumatic distress among Israeli social workers in foster care agencies based on Conservation of Resources theory.

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Good professional practices for promoting positive parenting and child participation in reunification processes

Ainoa Mateos Inchaurrondo PhD, Nuria Fuentes-Peláez PhD, Crescencia Pastor Vicente PhD, Anna Mundet Bolós PhD - Child & Family Social Work, 06 Mar 2018

This quantitative study contributes knowledge regarding the attitude of professionals towards positive parenting and child participation.

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Evaluation of Ghana's Child Protection System Strengthening Initiatives at the District Level: Final Report

Government of Ghana, UNICEF, 01 Mar 2018

The objective of this evaluation is to document and assess how the capacity of the child protection system in Ghana—in particular the practices of the Social Welfare Actors (SWA)—has changed to enable the provision of quality services to children and families with support of the workforce strengthening (WFS) initiative.

Caseworkers' insights and experiences with successful reunification

Merav Jedwab, Anusha Chatterjee, Terry V. Shaw - Children and Youth Services Review, 22 Feb 2018

The current study presents findings from a survey of child welfare caseworkers' experiences with reunifications and focuses on practices and key factors at the casework practice and at the system-environment level to assist in achieving successful reunification.

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Care-‘less’: exploring the interface between child care and parental control in the context of child rights for workers in children’s homes in Ghana

Ernest Darkwah, Marguerite Daniel, Joana Salifu Yendork - BMC International Health and Human Rights, 20 Feb 2018

This study explored how employed caregivers experience the interface between child care, parental control and child rights in the context of Children’s Homes in Ghana.

A longitudinal study of stress and satisfaction among child welfare workers

Rose Chahla & Rose Chahla - Journal of Social Work, 20 Feb 2018

In this sample of 160 retained specially-trained public child welfare workers and former students, sources of stress and satisfaction were examined three and five years after the conclusion of the students’ work obligation.

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What does “recovery” from mental illness and addiction mean? Perspectives from child protection social workers and from parents living with mental distress

Anne Lorraine Scott, Kelly Pope, Donald Quick, Bella Aitken, Adele Parkinson - Children and Youth Services Review, 13 Feb 2018

This paper analyzes the perspectives of eleven social workers doing child protection work and examines the accounts of thirteen parents living with mental illness or addiction who have been involved in child custody investigations in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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Whole of Syria Child Protection: 2018 Operational Strategy

Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR), 08 Feb 2018

This report from the Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR) highlights the child protection needs and responses in Syria and includes objectives and targets for continued child protection interventions and strategies.