Country-Led Evaluation of Social Welfare Workforce Capacity Building Initiatives in Timor-Leste

Since achieving independence, the Government of Timor-Leste has made significant progress toward establishing a comprehensive and functioning child protection system, with considerable assistance from partners like UNICEF. Nevertheless, formal social services designed to support child victims are still scarce and fail to offer uniform and equitable access nationwide. 

Critical institutions within the child protection and aligned sectors, including social welfare, justice, education, and health remain inadequately funded, and staff often lack necessary capacity, while coordination among these institutions is limited and frequently ineffective. Currently, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and faith-based organizations provide majority of child protection services, operating with minimal government oversight and collaboration. The Government of Timor-Leste has prioritized the development of a skilled, professional, and accountable Social Welfare Workforce (SWW) since the adoption of the 2016 Child and Family Welfare (CFW) Policy. These efforts include the development of a multi-sectoral strategy for SWW capacity development.

Throughout the evaluation period, various partner organizations and programs have been executing capacity development (CD) initiatives. These initiatives have been geared towards the enhancement of knowledge and skills of the SWW, with the goal of providing inclusive and efficient preventive and responsive child protection services across the country.

The Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI) with support of UNICEF, commissioned a country-led independent evaluation of the capacity development initiatives targeting Timor-Leste’s SWW over the years 2016 to 2022. The purpose of evaluation is to provide evidence-based recommendations to guide the future processes and programs of SWW capacity development in Timor-Leste.