Towards a Sustainable, Coherent and Appropriate Child Welfare Workforce in South Africa

Schmid, Jeanette

doi:10.15270/48-4-23

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A number of challenges towards child welfare transformation have been identified. These include difficulties in the development of an integrated, coherent and sustainable workforce (Schmid ); a gap between university education and needs in the practice context, although both academics and practitioners identify working from a social development perspective (Schmid ); continuities with the individualistic discourses of international child protection agencies and activities (Schmid ); managers remaining unsure of how to employ organizational development and change processes to realize new policy directions (Oliphant & Roestenburg ) and staff and governance structures remaining unrepresentative of the broader population (Oliphant & Roestenburg ). Loffell () also identified high caseloads associated with processing foster care grant applications for kin, resulting in the increased concentration of resources on statutory social work and limiting transformation in service delivery.…”

Section: Tracking Transformation In Child and Welfare Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming child and family services in urban communities in South Africa: lessons from the South

Patel

Schmid²,

Venter³

2015

Child & Family Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Post-apartheid, South African agencies have been required to shift their services in fundamental ways, including offering services in previously un-resourced areas, honouring the rights of children and families, ensuring that users, staff and governing bodies are representative of the population and providing developmental social welfare services in place of child protection-oriented interventions only. A study of urban South African child welfare agencies provides insight into the complex task of managing and leading change. In view of overloaded change agenda and resource constraints, managers focused on effecting incremental change and prioritized the most 'rewarding' change efforts. Transforming practice towards a developmental approach was less successful. Structural interventions were also not prioritized. Child welfare agencies internationally face demands to transform in response to the effects of local change and globalization. The study's insights might resonate with agencies working for change in other societal contexts.

show abstract

Section: Tracking Transformation In Child and Welfare Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%