Additional clarification is needed to explain how the elevation of child welfare work into a prestigious profession will occur and why it is integral to real and substantial change. The following components will result in the view of a prominent and respected child welfare profession: A rigorous graduate program housed in university psychology departments offering comprehensive training for potential child welfare workers; A well publicized standard including clear requirements that new child welfare workers must meet; The gradual emulation by peers, near and far, of those students who have come before them; Word will increasingly get out that this new child welfare worker is engaged in important work that can truly facilitate real hope, help and change and this will encourage other potential students to enter the field; Family members who become child welfare clients will be cognizant of the special qualifications workers possess and be more likely to expect real positive outcome from their intervention (this will be reinforced by the respectful and informed actual interaction between the parties); Government funding will be used more precisely and economically leading to more funding for high quality education and occupational training for parents and their children.
The fact that such a transformation is difficult to fathom does not mean that it is but a mere dream or unreal. It means that the road ahead is difficult but doable. And if it turns out that it is not doable, that is no reflection on the idea itself but rather on the doers--or the lack of. There may be other ways that can also lead to the kind of change the present child welfare system screams out for, but they too will entail much difficulty. And, after so many decades of dancing in place, its high time to start moving and to do so in totally new directions.
The action required to transform child welfare work into a prestigious profession that smart and dedicated people will aspire to be part of gets to the heart of what does not work in the current system and also to exactly what is necessary for real and substantial change.
The fact that such a transformation is difficult to fathom does not mean that it is but a mere dream or unreal. It means that the road ahead is difficult but doable. And if it turns out that it is not doable, that is no reflection on the idea itself but rather on the doers--or the lack of. There may be other ways that can also lead to the kind of change the present child welfare system screams out for, but they too will entail much difficulty. And, after so many decades of dancing in place, its high time to start moving and to do so in totally new directions.
The action required to transform child welfare work into a prestigious profession that smart and dedicated people will aspire to be part of gets to the heart of what does not work in the current system and also to exactly what is necessary for real and substantial change.
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