Resources Database

The social welfare workforce assessment was undertaken in order to establish the existing situation and composition of the social welfare workforce within Tanzania, including a review of the policy and legal environment which give mandate and legitimacy to its work. Specifically the assessment has sought to gather demographic information of social welfare workers currently working in Tanzania, document the social welfare services being provided by social welfare institutions/agencies, and provide a profile of social welfare workers, their expected roles and activities.

The purpose of this technical report is to provide a description of the composition of the social service workforce, including typical functions, titles, and levels and types of education and training. The report is intended to stimulate discussion and help the field move toward a common understanding of 1) functions associated with different cadres within the social service workforce, 2) titles associated with workers who perform these functions, and 3) education or training that is typically associated with these cadres.

The Department of Social Welfare (DSW) in Liberia, in consultation with stakeholders, has prioritized development of a new social welfare program focusing on Children Without Appropriate Care.  The objective of this context assessment was to collect all relevant information to support the development of the DSW’s institutional capacities to execute the new framework for alternative care in Liberia, for the benefit of children without appropriate care.  The assessment will help lead to the development of a capacity building plan to guide the process of building the DSW’s capacities to implem

This paper provides a review of international and Ugandan literature on social care and support services particularly focusing on identifying key lessons that are relevant to the Ugandan context. The paper was developed as the first stage of a study carried out by Oxford Policy Management which aims to provide advice to develop the vision, strategic approach and priority areas of intervention for social care services policy and programming in Uganda.

Building on the momentum created during the 2011 National Child Welfare Evaluation Summit, the Children’s Bureau convened three Child Welfare Research and Evaluation Workgroups. Each workgroup examined a particular evaluation topic or issue, with the goal of improving child welfare research and evaluation and strengthening the link between research and practice.  This document is a practical guide for strengthening child welfare systems.

In recognition of the need to address the psychosocial needs of older caregivers HelpAge collaborated with REPSSI to develop Policy Guidelines for Psychosocial Care and Support for Older Carers of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children affected by HIV and AIDS. The Policy Guidelines document is intended to offer a concise description of the concept of psychosocial support and how it relates to older careers of orphaned and vulnerable children in a time of HIV and AIDS. It offers recommended strategic focus areas which may be used to influence policies which provide support for older carers.

In recognition of the need to address the psychosocial needs of older caregivers HelpAge collaborated with REPSSI to develop guidelines. These programming guidelines were especially developed with the aim of impacting on the wellbeing of older carers living in situations of poverty and in a time of HIV and AIDS. The aim of this set of resource materials is to enable home based caregivers, development facilitators and peer counsellors to have relevant information and guidance on strengthening psychosocial care and support to older carers.

Ninety per cent of care for people living with HIV is carried out in the home, by family or members of the community. Many of these carers are older people, predominantly older women. This document provides guidelines for addressing challenges faced by older carers (including poor health, financial hardships, psychosocial impacts, time poverty and stigma) and for training and supporting older carers.

This document systematically reviews the main risks (defined as potential adverse consequences of a crisis) to which older people are exposed in emergency situations. It is intended for humanitarian practitioners and emergency managers involved in the design and implementation of emergency programs. For each risk, under “key actions” the document lists simple measures that can be taken within the standard programming and funding parameters of humanitarian organizations to reduce risks for older people in emergencies.

This document is the outcome of a national research on the situation of older people in Myanmar, carried out in 2012. It is expected that this study will inform social and economic policies, especially those related to increasing income, expanding human security and reducing poverty among older people, their families and communities.

This briefing note provides background knowledge on the psychosocial aspects of responding to the Ebola epidemic and suggests psychosocial support activities that can be implemented. Psychosocial support is not only vital to ensure the well‐being of the affected population, but also to counter‐act the threats to public health and safety that fear, stigmatization and misconception poses. Furthermore, everybody involved in the response, from expat staff, local staff and volunteers, is working under unusually stressful conditions.

This guide focuses on psychological first aid, which involves humane, supportive and practical help to fellow human beings suffering serious crisis events. It is written for people who can help others experiencing an extremely distressing event. This guide is an adaptation of the Psychological first aid: Guide for field workers (World Health Organization, War Trauma Foundation, World Vision International, 2011). It has been adapted to better respond to the challenges of Ebola virus disease outbreaks.

The focus of this study is to better understand how social workers and related professionals are trained and educated—both formally and informally—to engage in social work practice, especially as it is related to child protection, in the West and Central Africa region. The study defined the social service workforce broadly, including not only professional social workers but paraprofessionals such as NGO and CBO workers who through their daily work attempt to support vulnerable children and families.

This document provides a general framework of agreed principles, considerations, steps and procedures for effective child protection case management in line with the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action. The guidance is also relevant for non-humanitarian settings.

This is a presentation providing detail on the implementation of a new, integrated social service system in Armenia.  The presentation outlines the three pillars of integrated social services:  case management, project management and resource management and discusses how this has been implemented in Armenia.  An innovative approach highlighted entails training 200 case managers in 19 integrated social service centers and the implementation of a case management process.

This report makes use of available evidence to describe what is currently known about global patterns of violence against children, using data compiled from a selection of sources. The analyses focus primarily on forms of interpersonal violence, defined as violent acts inflicted on children by another individual or a small group.

MEASURE Evaluation has produced a set of tools for measuring quantitative child outcomes and caregiver/household outcomes in programs for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). This tool kit was developed with the support of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) OVC technical working group. Data collectors implementing the PEPFAR OVC survey tools must be trained to a high standard. To enable this, MEASURE Evaluation has developed a training manual and materials for data collectors.

This case study explains how MEASURE Evaluation and Pact Worldwide adapted a data demand and use (DDU) intervention to build a culture of data use within their organization and their partner organizations in Lesotho. The goal of the collaboration was to institutionalize DDU tools, curricula, and strategies in Pact’s institutional guidance and official structure in order to create a culture of data use in Lesotho and worldwide.

This presentation from ONED focuses on the practical aspects of setting up child protection monitoring mechanisms, particularly the setting up of a quantitative data collection system in a field marked by inter-agency collaboration.  The presentation provides information on reporting and documentation of child protection issues in France and offers recommendations pertaining to confidentiality and ethical issues related to data collection systems.  

The European Social Network’s (ESN) working group on Leadership, Performance and Innovation was set up in the wake of the economic crisis in Europe. It brought together senior managers of public social services at local and regional level to evaluate both the impact of and the responses to the crisis, and to explore what this experience might mean for the future of the welfare state and for the leadership and management of social services. The aim of this paper is to explore the perceptions, challenges and opportunities for leadership and management in the social services sector.