COVID-19 and Beyond: Recognizing the Essential Role of the Social Service Workforce
This blogpost was written by Nicole Brown, Communications and Advocacy Manager, Global Social Service Workforce Alliance on 26th October 2020 and reposted from their blog.
In the context of the global pandemic that has affected all of our lives this year, decision makers, planners and donors are slowly, and belatedly, coming to realize the need not only for doctors, nurses and health workers, but also for a skilled, wide-ranging and integrated community-based workforce. These frontline workers deliver the social services that are crucial to prevent and respond to the pandemic’s wide-ranging social impacts that are multiple, often severe, and, most likely, long lasting. These impacts include escalating rates of family poverty, violence against children, domestic violence, child labour and child marriage. The pandemic has also heightened the vulnerability of older people, and those with particular health conditions and disabilities.
Children, families and vulnerable groups certainly need health protection, and social protection including emergency cash assistance. But they also need a range of more targeted, and often specialist, services, which only a trained, adequately resourced, staffed and distributed social service workforce can provide. Only social service workers have the skills, knowledge and values to identify, reach, assess and engage with the most marginalised and often invisible members of society, who include not only those with social, economic or health disadvantages, but also those experiencing or fleeing ethnic or racial discrimination and oppression, homelessness, war, persecution, natural disasters or the effects of climate change.
The good news is that this workforce, despite the failure by many governments initially to invest in their important role, has proven to be strong, resilient and innovative. Social service workers have successfully lobbied not only for recognition of their essential role, but for the personal protective equipment, transport and other resources they need. This has enabled them to continue to identify and visit the most vulnerable or isolated members of their community, including those who would otherwise struggle to access services.
Social service workers have managed to quickly identify and reach those most in need, and to adapt or innovate services and ways of delivering them, including telephone helplines for those at risk of abuse; digital apps to enable case management, monitoring and access to information; and online support to help parents and children prevent and cope with increasing stress and conflict at home. Social service workers have also lobbied not only for recognition, but for the personal protective equipment, transport and other resources they need, to be able to continue to identify and visit the most vulnerable or isolated members of their community, those who would otherwise be hidden, overlooked or unable to access services, whether online or in person.
Through the COVID 4P Log app, practitioners, policymakers and others working in the social service sector have been sharing their experiences and recommendations for supporting the social service workforce during COVID-19 and beyond. Drawing additional attention and actions for policies, funding, training and recognition to the social service workforce will ensure these workers are best able to meet the needs of the local communities where they work. The Global Social Service Workforce Alliance is proud to support the COVID 4P Log app and encourages users to continue to share their responses. As these responses are consolidated and shared, everyone will benefit.