This webinar will showcase the learning from Strengthening the Social Service Workforce for Family-Based Care, a two-year project implemented by the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, with technical support from Child Frontiers, under a grant from the Martin James Foundation.
Implemented with partner NGOs in Brazil, India and Uganda, the project set out to learn from, record and amplify the knowledge and insights of youth and children with lived experience of care, their family members, and of social service workers, to develop training and advocacy tools to strengthen the social service workforce in support of family-based care.
During the project, over 250 care-experienced children, youth, and adults from India, Uganda, and Brazil shared their perspectives on the practices and qualities they most value in social workers and others providing social services.
They have emphasised the particular need for support with livelihoods and access to work and education, and three main categories of attributes that they value in those who seek to support them: personal attributes, effectiveness and operating with integrity, and participation and connection to the community.
These findings have been used to develop interactive training tools for social workers. These tools bring the voices of care-experienced individuals and the value of learning from their experience directly to practitioners. Testing them showed that this is often the first time social workers have heard directly from children and young people, leading to reflection and commitments to adapt practices.
The recommendations emerging from the consultations require policy change. They will inform ongoing advocacy with governments, not only to better resource the workforce but also to ensure they continue to improve their practice, the relevance and effectiveness of their support and outreach, and the ways in which they communicate and interact with people in need.
Speakers
- Hugh Salmon, Global Social Service Workforce Alliance
- Ailsa Laxton, Martin James Foundation
- Sumaeya Nassuna, Association of Care Leavers Uganda and Child's i Foundation, Uganda
- VS Valavan, Miracle Foundation India
- Claudia Cabral, Associação Brasileira Terra dos Homens, Brazil
- Angie Bamgbose, Child Frontiers
This event will be in English, with Spanish and Portuguese interpretation.
At the event date and time, you can join via this link: https://familyforeverychild-org.zoom.us/j/89400889155