Social Service Workforce Week 2021

Every year, the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance hosts Social Service Workforce Week. The week serves as an opportunity for advocates to bring attention to and build support for the social service workforce as well as raise awareness about promising workforce strengthening efforts supported by stakeholders around the world. 

With the world experiencing more protracted conflicts, more frequent climate-related disasters and more severe and widespread disease outbreaks, most notably the current COVID-19 pandemic, social service workers have increasingly been playing key roles in helping people and communities prepare, adapt and respond. This year, we will draw attention to these essential roles. We will also explore how the role of the social service workforce has changed, and how social service workers have adapted, as such emergencies have become more frequent and widespread.

Blog Posts

• Recognizing the Key Role of Social Service Workers in Emergency Preparedness and Response, by Hugh Salmon, Director of the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance
• The Role of Social Service Workers in Disaster Preparedness: A Q&A with Heather Boetto, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Charles Sturt University
• Developing Standard Operating Procedures for Child Protection Case Management in Humanitarian Settings, by Crystal Stewart, International Rescue Committee, and Anneloes Koehorst, UNICEF, co-leads of the Case Management Task Force under the Alliance for Child Protection In Humanitarian Action
• My name is Nyarueni, by Glynis Clacherty, Lead Researcher on the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action's Community Engagement in Case Management project
• Delivering Effective Social Work Services During COVID-19: Lessons from a Cambodian NGO, A Q&A with Lee Henley, Executive Director of Children's Future International
• Localizing Volunteer Support in Kyrgyzstan During the Pandemic: A Case Study
• Building Resilience to Climate-Related Shocks in Northern Kenya, by Lavender Ondere, World Vision Kenya

Worker Profiles

Our full collection of worker profiles can be found on the Defining the Social Service Workforce page of our website.

• Yary Chhay, Senior Social Worker/Child Protection Officer, Children's Future International, Cambodia
• Marcela Dillon-Stretchie, Program Manager, Keystone Human Services Moldova
• Virgiliu Hangan, Social Evaluation and Family Reintegration Coordinator, Partnerships for Every Child, Moldova
• Lilian Leonora López Ruano, Psychology Specialist, Catholic Relief Services, Guatemala (en español)
• Mónica Mariela Mayorga Ayala, Child Protection and Care Systems Strengthening Coordinator, Catholic Relief Services, Guatemala (en español)
• Orlando Monteiro, Volunteer Case Worker, Plan International, Mozambique
• Ala Nosatii, Program Manager, Children, Communities, and Families, Moldova
  

Ways to Advocate and Celebrate

As a global network, we rely heavily on our members and the public to advance our advocacy efforts. Throughout the week, help us increase attention and support for the social service workforce by:

• Posting content on social media: Share the pre-written content and graphic found below throughout your social media channels or post your own content using the hashtag#SSWWeek (be sure to tag @SSWAlliance).  You may also share/retweet a post from our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. 
• Sharing resources and blog content: Each day, we will post blog content and social service worker profiles on this page. Share the content across your networks.
• Contributing additional content or resources: Submit additional resources or content related to the role of the social service workforce in emergency preparedness and response for inclusion in our resource database or as a future blog post.   
• Encouraging colleagues to become members: The Alliance supports a growing network of more than 3,000 individual members affiliated with a range of organizations and institutions across 145 countries. Increasing and diversifying our membership allows us to continue to build a movement to strengthen and advocate for the social service workforce.

Social Media Content

• This week is #SSWWeek! With more protracted #conflict, more frequent #climate-related disasters & more severe and widespread #disease outbreaks, #socialservice workers have been in the front lines of service response. Join us and @SSWAlliance in recognizing their critical role.
• #Socialservice workers have continually had to adapt their practice as crises and emergencies have become more frequent and more widespread. Learn more throughout #SSWWeek: https://bit.ly/3lQ6Idc
• The level of #resilience in a community determines the level of impact that a #disaster will have. #Socialservice workers play a critical role not only in disaster response but in disaster preparedness as well. #SSWWeek#climatechange Learn more: https://bit.ly/3lQ6Idc
• #Socialservice workers play a critical role in building the #resilience of communities impacted by disasters. This is increasingly important with #climatechange. This #SSWWeek we join @SSWAlliance in bringing attention to that important role. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3lQ6Idc
• #Socialservice workers have been essential in mitigating the impact of #COVID19 on communities and will continue to be essential in preparing for and mitigating the impact of future crises. Share if you agree! #SSWWeek. @SSWAlliance
• This #SSWWeek we join @SSWAlliance in recognizing the increasingly important role of the #socialservice workforce in emergency response and preparedness, particularly in light of #COVID19 and #climatechange. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3lQ6Idc

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