Training of the systemic practice in child protection and family social work
About this good practice
The Finnish systemic practice model is a further developed version of the UK’s Reclaiming Social Work model. All workers are trained to carry out systemic practice. They are organized into small systemic teams in which they work under the guidance of a consulting social worker and together with a systemic family therapist and a coordinator. The cases are handled together in the weekly team meetings.
Child protection social work has been considered to need a comprehensive culture change. The main problems have been related to the large number of clients, high workload, stress, workers moving to other tasks, rising costs, and difficulties in cooperation between professionals. Child protection has often been characterized by a problem-focused orientation and inadequate support and guidance for workers.
The model is developed and disseminated nationwide by the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare. Professionals from all regions are trained to the model. They plan and carry out trainings in their own areas.
In Päijät-Häme, the model is trained two times a year, with participants from public services. The aim is to train all workers in child protection and family social work. The training is tailored to the participants’ work. One training module consists of six training days (two in a row) within three months. Between the training days there is time to reflect on and apply what has been learned. The workers also learn to carry out systemic practice in the systemic teams.
Resources needed
Two trainers from practical social work who have attended a training and/or have sufficient knowledge about the systemic practice. No specific financial resources are needed. The trainers must have been addressed working hours to prepare the trainings in addition to training days (6: 48 h)
Evidence of success
A comprehensive effectiveness study found that 79% of employees wanted to continue using the systemic model, and 76% assessed that collective reflection had improved the quality of child protection. However, the effectiveness of the model suffers from too large a number of clients, limited piloting, staff shortages, and poor quality of training, as well as incorrect application of the model. Therefore, well-executed training is crucial. Source: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9224-8
Potential for learning or transfer
Working with children’s and families’ complicated life situations demands multi-disciplinary expertise. Multi-level service integration and shared understanding of systemic thinking are the premises for implementation.
From the client’s point of view, the model ensures that the whole team is aware of the situation, and that the support is comprehensive, individualized, and continuous.
From the worker’s point of view, the model enables sharing responsibility among workers, enables the support of the team and thus promotes the occupational wellbeing. The asset of the model lies in its interprofessional collaboration.
The training is crucial when implementing the model. The model should be applied throughout the organization with the strategic decision. Centrally trained trainers enable the efficient dissemination of the model. Every region has done its training in their own way in Finland. This type of training allows it to be tailored to the region and the participants.
Good practice owner
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