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WEBINAR 24: New Resources to Strengthen Case Management Approaches

View the full webinar recording on the Alliance’s YouTube channel, download the webinar presentations and review and respond to questions posed during the webinar on the Alliance discussion board, available later in March.

On February 13, 2018, the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance hosted its 24nd webinar on the topic New Resources to Strengthen Case Management Approaches. Due to high interest the webinar was re-broadcasted live on March 7, 2018.

Quality case management practices have been shown to improve decision-making and service delivery in child welfare and protection in order to reduce violence against children, prevent unnecessary family separation, and improve child and family outcomes. In recent years, many organizations have been working on the development of case management resources to strengthen the ability of the social service workforce to carry out effective case management practices.

Natia Partskhaladze, Senior Technical Advisor of the Alliance, introduced the webinar agenda and provided an overview of the work of the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance and the Case Management Interest Group. The interest group was formed over a year ago as a result of expressed interest from members of the Alliance. The work of the interest group is driven by more than 70 Alliance members who provide their expertise and input through two sub-groups- Concepts and Principles and Tools and Resources. Newly developed resources from the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance Case Management Interest Group were presented during the webinar.

Two of the co-chairs of the interest group sub-groups presented during the webinar on these newly developed tools.

Kelley Bunkers, co-chair of the sub-group on Core Concepts and Principles, highlighted the aim and the process of developing the document, intended audience and recommended ways of its use. Kelley shared the definition and principles of case management that are reflected in the document, discussed the key steps of case management and other important considerations for strengthening the ability of the social service workforce to carry out effective case management practices. The document provides key steps and considerations throughout all steps of the case management process. Kelley is a Technical Director at the 4Children Project and a Senior Partner at Maestral International.

Severine Chevrel, co-chair of the Tools and Resources sub-group, discussed the aim and the process of developing the Compendium and ways of using and enriching it. Severine shared the process for reviewing existing resources and tools to be compiled into a compendium. Interest group members developed a matrix to analyze submitted resources. A total of 25 resources were selected for the Compendium and divided in four categories: Core Concepts and Principles, Tools and Forms, Standard Operating Procedures, and Training Materials. The selected resources aremeant to be useful to audiences of various workforce levels and represent perspectives and practices across different regions and stages from humanitarian to development. Severine then invited webinar attendees and other to submit additional resources for consideration for inclusion in a second edition of the Compendium. Severine is the Child Protection and Welfare Systems Senior Technical Advisor at the 4Children Project and a Senior Associate at Maestral International.

After the presentations, the speakers responded to the questions posed by the participants. Remaining questions will be addressed on the Alliance’s discussion board, given the high level of interest on the topic the case management and the number of questions posed during the webinar.

Natia briefly discussed next steps for the work of the Case Management Interest Group. To help identify future work of the interest group, participants were asked to respond to a poll on the area of work within case management they would like to see the interest group undertake. The majority of the participants identified aspects of multi-sectoral coordination needed for case management as the area of most importance for them (33%), followed by child protection information management systems/scoping of existing tools and information technologies (31%). The survey results will be reviewed and discussed by the interest group members for planning future activities.

The webinar was concluded by encouraging participants to join the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance. After becoming members, individuals can then select to join the Case Management Interest Group, share additional case management tools and resources, participate in discussion boards on the website related to case management and share other events or opportunities with the Alliance network.  

This is the 24th webinar in the Social Service Workforce Strengthening Webinar Series, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through PEPFAR and the 4Children Project. Prior webinars are available on the Alliance's YouTube channel.