Resources Database

This report is the result of research undertaken in South Africa to review community and home-based care, especially in regards to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The research highlights the important roles played by caregivers in health promotion programs, counselling and testing, client advocacy, stigma mitigation and community mobilization.

The project described in this article has a strong focus on capacity-building of researchers, policymakers, and planners, and on increasing service user and caregiver involvement to support mental health systems strengthening.

These documents aim to provide multi-sectoral, inter-agency framework for coordination, identification and implementation of useful practices for psyschosocial and mental health well-being in emergency settings. The second is a checklist for field use

This paper demonstrates the devastating effects that disaster, conflict and fragility can have on children and the crisis that is being created in child protection. The paper recommends steps to address this crisis, including building a workforce that is able to respond to child protection issues in emergencies and inclusion of child protection within the post-2015 development framework.

This report documents models, case studies and lessons learned to highlight practical ways in which child protection systems and services link to HIV services in order to benefit HIV and child protection outcomes for children. The goal of the report is for policymakers and programmers to consider and implement interventions that link across sectors.

This study evaluates the current literature on the topic of institutions caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in the face of HIV/AIDS to determine appropriateness.

This report provides the guidelines for family-based care used by Next Generation Nepal and The Himalayan Innovative Society for reintegrating children with their families in situations in which there they have been separated.

These guidelines are meant to support child welfare and protection practitioners in order to improve the quality of family support and alternative care services in Kenya.

The IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in Emergency Settings were established in 2007 to protect and improve people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being in the midst of an emergency. Seven years of dissemination, utilization and implementation of the Guidelines in a range of vastly differing contexts has offered an opportunity for reflection, consolidation and mapping of the next steps toward strengthening and improving MHPSS response in emergencies.

This working paper reviews data from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leona to estimate the likely number of children who will be orphaned as a result of the Ebola Virus Disease. The estimates are intended to guide policy to support family networks to improve the capacity to provide high quality care to orphans.

This report is a multi-country review consolidates main challenges and effective strategies related to faculty recruitment and retention around the world. In many countries, it can be difficult to recruit social work faculty who possess masters or doctoral degrees because of the shortage of candidates who hold these higher-level qualifications and choose a career in academia. Addressing challenges in recruiting and retaining faculty requires a holistic approach that incorporates a range of linked recruitment and retention interventions that fit the particular country context.

This study reviews existing policies, models of provision and understandings of family and parenting support in different settings. It examines support to families in the context of broader policies, national goals and systems and provides and analytical framework for future research and policy work. This research also examines in detail national policies and interventions in Croatia, Belarus, Chile, Jamaica, the Philippines, China, South Africa, Sweden and England.

This authoritative report by the Families Commission reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of parenting programmes, as a way of reducing the risk of maltreatment of vulnerable children aged 0–6 years. We looked at both national and international evidence to identify parenting programmes that work and those that do not work, including for Māori and Pacific peoples. The report looks at common components of effective programs, including those related to staffing and infrastructure (including staff qualifications, training and support).

Poor outcomes and several complaints to the judicial system against residential
services for children have triggered a deep review of the Chilean child welfare services,
particularly in relation to family reunification. This paper offers strategic guidelines to
improve alternative care for children younger than six years of age, who are under
protective measures.

Social service interventions have been implemented in many countries to help people living with HIV (PLHIV) and household members cope with economic burden as a result of reduced earning or increased spending on health care. However, the evidence for specific interventions—economic strengthening and legal services—on key health outcomes has not been appraised.

This manual is intended to provide Child Welfare Workers in Sierra Leone a basis for understanding what is child abuse, recognising symptoms of abuse and knowing where to report abuse. The CRA mandates all Child Welfare Workers to report cases of child abuse to the appropriate authorities to ensure the safety and well being of the child and that the appropriate action is taken.

This working paper explores the topic of social service workforce strengthening as it relates to child care reform. It is intended to be a useful resource for reform efforts and a practical and accessible overview for use by policy-makers, practitioners, and service providers in contexts that are either considering the implications of care reforms for their social service workforce or are already engaged in the process. The paper illustrates key issues by drawing on the experiences of Indonesia, Moldova, and Rwanda, three countries in the process of reform.

This mid-term report assesses activity outcomes of projects developed by Retrak in the SNNPR region of Ethopia to address push factors leading to children living on the streets.

This report provides data to show that Zimbabwe is in crisis in terms of ratio of social service workers to children. The report offers ideas for both short and long-term interventions to improve the situation.