Abstract This article provides an exploration of social workers’ self-efficacy following their participation in a training programme designed to enhance the professional competence of practice educators. The study was conducted at three sites in China: Nanjing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with 300 participants completing a standardized questionnaire at three time-points—before the training, at its conclusion, and after supervising a student. The aim was to identify factors associated with changes in social work practice educators’ sense of self-efficacy. Multiple regression analyses revealed that several variables, including supervisory experience in social work, practice region, and possession of a social work degree—significantly influenced participants’ self-efficacy across the three different phases. Participants from less developed regions demonstrated greater improvements in self-efficacy following the training. Based on these findings, the study recommends developing tailored training programmes and promoting the sharing of regional experiences among social workers in China.

Abstract Despite the centrality of labour in precarious migrants’ struggles to access and reproduce legal statuses that shape territorial and social rights, little attention has been given to the role of statutory social work in their labour struggles. This article explores the labour struggles that precarious migrant workers in Finland are engaged in, what kind of support they request from social workers and how the social workers respond. Drawing on ethnographic data, the article analyses the role of social work in their labour struggles by deploying the perspectives of precarization and social reproduction. The findings reveal that migrants’ labour struggles are often intertwined with ambitions to access or reproduce a legal status that would give them broader access to the means of social reproduction, shaping the ways in which labour struggles play out. When migrants must complete different applications to increase their chances of accessing a desired legal status, their unwillingness to claim unpaid salaries is rooted in a fear that the claim would affect one of the necessary applications. Nevertheless, migrants support the need for social workers to have direct contact with employers and other authorities in cases where a positive result is expected.

Abstract Indigenous children and families have been seriously harmed by services intended to help them. Recent policy changes in high-income settler-colonial countries seek to shift responsibility for child and family support services to the Indigenous community-controlled sector. Delivering quality outcomes for Indigenous children and families requires skilled, credentialed, and culturally safe workers. This review was undertaken to understand the evidence about the Indigenous child and family support services workforce in the community-controlled sector and to inform practice change. The review focused on workers in the Indigenous child and family support services community-controlled sector in high-income settler-colonial countries. Results were reported using the PRISMA statement. Included papers were assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute and CREATE tools. A thematic analysis was conducted of the process and findings of the included papers. The review identified thirteen papers from which five themes emerged: 1 skills, education and training; 2 depth of experience and importance of cultural knowledge; 3 measuring outcomes; 4 systemic racism; and 5 models of service provision. The review found that whilst very thin, the available literature provides important policy and practice direction for child and family support services.

Abstract The failure of public agencies such as children’s social care (CSC), health and the police to share information about children and families has been repeatedly identified as a factor contributing to missed opportunities to protect children from harm in England. Specific failings relating to information on men in children’s lives who may pose a danger have also been highlighted, including in the Myth of the Invisible Men report published by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. Successive governments have sought to address these failings by mandating the reform of local multi-agency governance structures and by seeking to influence day-to-day interactions between agencies including CSC, health, the police, schools and others with child safeguarding responsibilities. This article offers a critical perspective on the most recent reforms by drawing on previous research on the barriers and facilitators to information-sharing and findings from four case studies that examined local initiatives that have aimed to improve information-sharing. We identify three key themes that we argue need to be carefully considered in the design and implementation of multi-agency structures and working practices: (1) resources and organizational commitment to multi-agency working; (2) communication between professionals; and (3) competing perspectives on sharing information without consent.

Abstract The involvement of social workers in disaster management has been gaining increasing attention in recent years. However, despite their critical role as frontline service providers in disaster management, the field of disaster social work still lacks a coherent framework. Recent findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive approach that distinguishes between the various stages of disaster management, enabling a clearer understanding of social workers’ interventions. This qualitative study draws on the lived experiences of Israeli social workers to explore their engagement with families evacuated during the ongoing Israel–Hamas war. After nine months of evacuation and during the return home, three online focus groups were conducted with nine social workers. Data analysis indicates that the roles of social workers during wartime evolve through three key stages: (1) Professional chaos; (2) Service routinization; and (3) Service continuity and realignment upon returning home. These stages varied in terms of the families’ psychosocial needs, the interventions employed by social workers, and the professional challenges they encountered. Our findings emphasize the distinct roles social workers fulfill at different stages of disaster management, underscoring the need for policies that clearly define their responsibilities and better integrate their contributions to disaster response and recovery.

Abstract Despite the use of technology across various areas of social service and the necessity for practitioners to possess relevant technological knowledge and skills for technology-related services, gaps remain in assessing the digital competence of social service practitioners. This study aims to address the research gap by developing a Chinese digital competence measurement scale specifically tailored for social service practitioners. A survey was conducted, and 277 social service practitioners participated in the study. Results revealed a three-factor structure in the scale to assess digital competence, which includes technological knowledge and skills, technological will, and self-directed digital learning. The 16-item scale demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity. The implications for social service organizations are significant, as they can use the scale to evaluate their practitioners’ digital competence levels and leverage the results to inform in-service training and digital development initiatives.

Abstract In this scoping review, we attempt to identify the consequences of trust in the relationship between professionals and clients (children and parents), elaborating upon how social work contextualizes the trust-building process and how professionals can build trust with clients. We first performed a literature search in March and April 2024, resulting in a total of 2,600 hits. After applying the exclusion criteria, we selected thirty-six peer-reviewed research articles published between 2014 and 2024 for our analysis. According to our review, trust enables a partnership between clients and professionals, and at best can support client healing as well as a generalized sense of trust. However, social work is a challenging context for the trust-building process given the power imbalance between clients and professionals, the high turnover of professionals, the complex service needs of clients, and structural problems within the system. Professionals can build trust with clients through different acts of care, using a strength-based approach, providing time and continuity, and working with families’ wider networks.

Abstract Although much research has been conducted on the resilience of social workers, little has focused on workers in adult services specifically. Interviews were conducted with twenty-eight social workers in local authority adult services in Scotland to explore how they maintained and enhanced their resilience. Nine social workers completed diary entries reflecting on their day-to-day experience of resilience and eight interviews were carried out with social work managers for an overview of how resilience may be enhanced within organizations. Data were analysed thematically. The findings suggest that social workers felt equipped to manage the emotional nature of engaging with people receiving services and saw this as the essence of their role. Organizational demands were identified as a significant source of adversity. Based on the findings, a holistic framework of resilience is presented comprising of the domains of personal, relational, cultural, and structural factors, while recognizing that these are interwoven. A key finding is the connection between the resilience of social workers and ethical practice. Thus, professional integrity is identified as a concept which unites the four domains and underpins the resilience of social workers. As the model is not prescriptive, it may be of use across social work disciplines.

Abstract As social work professionalization grows in the Asia-Pacific, there is increasing recognition of the need for culturally relevant education, yet many Pacific nations lack formal definitions or recognition of social work training. In Fiji, international influences dominate definitions and ethics, creating tensions between Western frameworks and Pacific practices, which reflect deeper struggles between cultural identity and global professional discourse shaped by colonization and globalization. Using talanoa, a Pacific research methodology, and underpinned by decolonial thought, this article explores the experiences of sixty-one social workers from across Fiji and documents these tensions. It highlights the realities for many post-colonial contexts who are forced to walk within the realms of British Imperialist legacies and at times, incongruent cultural epistemologies. It warns of neocolonial risks inherent within professionalism agendas and questions whether social work benefits from efforts to organize as a homogenous, ethically unified profession.