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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Social Service Systems for Vulnerable Children and Families in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Establishing definitions and key components

Thomas M. Crea, Andrew D. Reynolds, Kelley McCreery Bunkers, Caroline M. Bishop - International Journal of Social Welfare, 21 Dec 2017

This study has reviewed existing literature on the definitions and components of social service systems and provides an analysis of data from key informants in the field of global social welfare.

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Competency Curriculum Intervention: Student Task Self-Efficacy and Attitudes in Child Welfare

Barbara Pierce, Taekyung Park - Advances in Social Work, 17 Dec 2017

This study evaluated a university-agency developed competency-based curriculum and field placement on child welfare for BSW and MSW students.

‘It’s So Complex!’: Understanding the Challenges of Child Protection Work as Experienced by Newly Graduated Professionals

Anne Jansen - The British Journal of Social Work, 07 Dec 2017

The present study is based on life mode interviews with social workers who started their careers in child protection services, focusing on their daily lives as newly graduated professionals.

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Authors of accountability: Paperwork and social work in contemporary child welfare practice

Katherine Gibson, Gina Samuels, Julia Pryce - Children and Youth Services Review, 07 Dec 2017

This analysis drew from a study in which child welfare professionals were interviewed about their definitions of “well-being” and the barriers and facilitators to promoting well-being in their daily practices.

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Authors of accountability: Paperwork and social work in contemporary child welfare practice

Katherine Gibson, Gina Samuels, Julia Pryce - Children and Youth Services Review, 07 Dec 2017

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Motivational Interviewing: A Primer for Child Welfare Professionals

Child Welfare Information Gateway, 01 Dec 2017

This factsheet provides child welfare professionals with an overview of motivational interviewing, describes circumstances when it could be applied, and highlights the basics of the method.

Prepare for Leaving Care: Practice Guidance

SOS Children’s Villages International and CELCIS, 01 Dec 2017

This Practice Guidance, developed by SOS Children’s Villages International and CELCIS, seeks to promote improvements in practice that should have a positive impact for young people during and after the leaving care process. The contents of this Practice Guidance are in good part informed by a detailed Scoping exercise that was carried out in each of the five countries participating in this project: Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Spain.

Fostering a culture of family‐centred care: Child welfare professionals' beliefs about fathers, family instability, and the value of relationship education

Jacquelyn K. Mallette, Ted G. Futris, David G. Schramm - Child & Family Social Work, 21 Nov 2017

Guided by the Cultural Competence Attainment Model, the purpose of this study is to examine how socio‐demographic and work characteristics are associated with variations in child welfare professionals' (CWPs) attitudes about father involvement and family instability and how these attitudes are linked with whether they view relationship and marriage education as relevant to their efforts to support families.

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Independence and effectiveness: Messages from the role of Independent Reviewing Officers in England

Chris Beckett, Jonathan Dickens, Gillian Schofield, Georgia Philip and Julie Young - Children and Youth Services Review , 05 Nov 2017

The paper draws on a mixed methods study the role and effectiveness of Independent Reviewing Officers in England.

The Family Support Service Practical Guide: A set of Methodological Guidelines for the Regional Social Assistance Structures

Tatiana Dnestrean, Svetlana Rîjicova, & Stela Grigoraș - Partnerships for Every Child, Advancing Partners and Communities, 01 Nov 2017

This guide represents a methodological support that describes the procedures for the provision, organization and operation of the Family Support Service.