The Professional Life Story and Professional Development of Social Workers in the Field of Child Welfare in Social Services Departments

Background. Child Welfare Social Workers, who in Israel are social workers in the field of child and family services, are social workers with expertise in protecting and treating minors at risk and their families. Throughout their professional careers, social workers develop professional identities and perceptions. Significant criticism is directed at social workers in general and child welfare social workers in particular, as they put their professional identity into practice and carry out one of the most sensitive and significant roles in society.

A review of research literature reveals that decisions made by professionals in various fields rely on a body of professional knowledge composed of two main sources: professional literature and knowledge based on the professional and personal experience of the professionals themselves. In this study, I seek to delve into how knowledge and professionalism develop among child welfare social workers by learning about their work experience, development, and formation of professional identity. The importance of this research lies in raising awareness and gaining a deep understanding of the conflicts and personal circumstances of child welfare social workers that influence crucial decisions in child protection, as well as learning from their personal and professional development and their professional life stories.

Method. This study conducted open narrative interviews inviting participants to share their life stories and professional development. Thirty veteran social workers in the field of child welfare, who have been working in the profession for three years or more, were interviewed. The interviews and research findings contribute methodologically to narrative research, as this type of study has not been conducted on this population before. The analysis method is holistic, focusing on the professional life story in its entirety, including its content and form. The interviews were read with reference to the "three-voice dialogue," and the messages in the story were examined using the "selection mechanism model."

Results and Conclusions. The analysis of the findings revealed three themes. The theme "Typology of Professional Identity" identified three characteristic identities for social workers in the field of child welfare in social services departments: pride and belonging to the profession, distance and aversion to the profession, and distress originating from work in social services or childhood experiences. The conclusions drawn from the professional typology contribute significantly to both practice and theory in the field of child welfare in social work. They demonstrate the importance of recognizing the existing stigma about working in social services departments and the need to develop ways to address and prevent it at the basic training level in schools of social work. Another conclusion is that individual psycho-therapeutic treatment is highly prestigious, at the expense of direct social work provided in social services departments. Therefore, it is important to address this issue in basic training and continuing education (in advanced degrees, training courses, certificate studies, etc.) to give greater importance to direct treatment as well. A further and very worrying conclusion is that in many, too many cases, it was revealed that social workers in social services departments, especially in child welfare roles, were not given supervision, did not have professional figures to support them, and their roles included a significant amount of bureaucracy that did not allow for in-depth work. All these negative phenomena must be addressed, as they only further burden social workers operating under the law, who are already in a vulnerable position. It seems that especially for them, supervision is a critical component in dealing with phenomena such as turnover, retirement, transition to the private sector, burnout, and so on.

The second theme, called "Sources of Professional Development," identified the building blocks of professional development in the field, which are: academic studies, professional experience, diversity in professional experience, and development due to the intersection of professional and personal identity following parenthood and supervision. The main conclusion emerging from this theme is that it is important to recognize and strengthen the professional development of social workers in the field of child welfare, in order to retain them in their roles and increase their commitment and professionalism - for their own benefit, for the benefit of the social services departments employing them, and no less importantly - for the benefit of the children and families they support.

The final theme was "Conflicts in the Formation of Professional Identity." This theme exposed the conflicts that social workers face in their professional work with children and at-risk families in social services departments. These conflicts revolved around the intersection of personal and professional, such as when social workers treated families while struggling with infertility themselves, when they sacrificed themselves for the collective, and when they experienced distress due to their professional engagement. Each of these circumstances had a unique impact on social workers in the field of child welfare. Here too, it is important to develop ways to diagnose the unique circumstances characterizing the distress experienced by social workers, and to develop tailored interventions to address them. Supervision plays an important and crucial role in most circumstances, but there is also a need for peer support, strengthening professionalism, and so on.

Research Contribution. This research has a significant contribution both to the development of theory regarding professional development and employee retention in the field of child welfare, and to practice, as the development of theoretical knowledge in the research enables practical coping with complex issues in the work of social services departments. An additional contribution of this research is to the field of qualitative narrative research, particularly to the holistic analysis of life stories, the great richness emerging from the stories, and the ability to understand and delve deeper into the researched field.

Research Limitations. The current research allows for an in-depth understanding of the professional life story of child welfare workers in social services departments. However, alongside the research contribution mentioned above, there are several limitations. Firstly, the research is qualitative, so the ability to generalize is limited. Additional limitations relate to the representativeness of the sample, the value of research at a single point in time, the lack of representation of service recipients, and finally, a unique limitation in conducting this type of research is the limitation of secrecy. The research deals with an explosive topic, which is social workers entrusted with protecting children at risk, when public criticism is hurled at them from the outside, and internal control and pressure are thrown at them from within, as revealed in the research. A situation is created where this important topic cannot be touched, and a feeling of secrecy, fear, and desire for ambiguity characterized the interviews.

Some researchers of interpretive paradigms, including narrative, see social change as the heart of the research act, and this research is no different in that regard. The implications of the research for practice are an understanding of the conditions in which the professional identity of a child welfare social worker can flourish in the best way and familiarity with the professional life story, which interweaves the influences of personal changes and conflicts on the professional lives of social workers in this field.