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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Identifying Households Needing Services for Orphans and Vulnerable Children – Guidelines for Adapting a Beneficiary Identification and Prioritization Tool from Uganda

MEASURE Evaluation, 01 May 2017

This document describes and provides guidelines for countries to implement the Household Vulnerability Prioritization Tool (HVPT), a tool developed in Uganda to identify and prioritize vulnerable households for enrollment in OVC programming.

Case Study on Child Protection within OVC Programs: The Role of Para-Social Workers in Creating Community-Led Approaches to Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse

Suzanne Andrews - Catholic Relief Services, 01 Mar 2017

The following case study outlines the process undertaken by officials, para-social workers (PSWs) and community leaders in several sub-counties in Kasese District in Western Uganda to a) identify and address instances of child abuse in their communities, b) track cases of abuse and encourage reporting by victims, and c) support a para-social workforce in the communities to act as a deterrent and reduce the incidence of abuse.

Case study on child protection within OVC programs: Integrated programming for improved child outcomes in Namutumba, Uganda

Suzanne Andrews - Catholic Relief Services , 01 Mar 2017

This case study describes the process, methods and results of the approach promoted by World Education’s Bantwana Initiative under two USAID/PEPFAR-funded consortium projects in Uganda: SUNRISE-OVC and STAR-EC.

Para Professionals in the Social Services Workforce: Guiding Principles, Functions and Competencies

Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, 01 Feb 2017

This document details the guiding principles for para professionals in the social service workforce.

Integrating Case Management for Vulnerable Children A process guide for assessing and developing an integrated case management system in Eastern and Southern Africa

Maestral International, UNICEF, 01 Feb 2017

This guide is aimed at informing policy makers and programme managers working across Eastern and Southern Africa to implement an integrated case management approach to practice with vulnerable children and their families.

No strangers to adversity: Resilience-promoting practices among South African women child protection social workers

Elmien Truter, Linda Theron, Ansie Fouché - Qualitative Social Work, 29 Jan 2017

In this article, the authors present findings that describe resilience-enhancing practices in the lives of 15 South African child protection social workers (CPSWs) who were considered resilient.

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Formative evaluation of UNICEF's strategy and approach to child protection systems building: Final review (Vol. 1)

Carolyn Hamilton, Elizabeth Yarrow and Kara Apland - Coram International , 10 Jan 2017

This report evaluates UNICEF's child protection systems building approach in Myanmar, including the review methodology, findings, conclusions and lessons learned, as well as recommendations for the future.

Safety and risk assessment tools for the South African child protection services : theory and practice

Gloudien Spies, Rina Delport and Liana (M.P.) le Roux - Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology, 2017

This article provides a discussion of the theoretical basis underpinning safety and risk assessment in child protection, and further describes the empirical research process involved in the development of safety and risk assessment tools and training materials for social workers in the South African child protection field.

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Case Management and Supervision Package

Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 2017

This package is a compilation of resources and new evidence for case management and supervision of humanitarian workers in responding to child protection situations.

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A Relational Approach to Practice: An Ethical Alternative to Working With Parents in Out-of-Home Care Processes

Elizabeth Claire Reimer - Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 2017

This qualitative study explored a relational practice approach with parents whose children have been removed into out-of-home care in Australia.