Staff Mentoring Pilot ProjectA joint initiative of PeakCare Qld and the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)PeakCare Qld is working with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) to provide professional clinical mentoring to staff in both the Government and Non-government Sectors in two Department of Child Safety zones (Logan and Brisbane West and Far Northern Queensland). Professional supervision has five domains: administration, management, accountability, support and professional development. This mentoring project will concentrate on the latter two. The project will be evaluated and it is envisaged that findings from the project will show that professional clinical mentoring of staff has a positive impact on the individual , and that this in turn results in increased job satisfaction, better staff retention, and a stronger sense of the professional self resulting in higher quality output for clients. For a copy of the final report click here RationaleStaff TurnoverAccording to the Department of Child Safety Annual report (2005-06), there were 2,051 staff employed. Of these staff, 163 received the Service recognition Award, which is provided to staff who have worked in the Department for 5 years or more, with the majority of these staff receiving an award for recognition of 5 – 10 years service. This strongly suggests that there is a gap in corporate knowledge, and that mentoring of the large proportion of new staff would be very difficult. Anecdotally staff retention, particularly in front line roles such as Child Safety Officer, is at an all time low. At the close of 2006, DChS records indicated that over 46% of permanent CSOs had moved from their positions within 12 months of commencing them. Because there is high staff turnover in the vital and complex front line worker role, training is more likely to be formulaic which in turn reduces the capacity of the department to develop increased sophistication in staff assessment and intervention planning with client families. AASW Child Safety ReportThe AASW Child Safety Report (2006), supports the above information and provides reasons for this. The report highlights that members feel that there is not enough support for them particularly in the area of how they manage the personal and professional dilemma that child protection work brings to the fore. Central Queensland InformationCurrently PeakCare Qld is conducting a capacity building project in the Central Queensland Zone. Through all consultations in relation to this project, PeakCare has repeatedly been informed of the difficulties of sourcing, retaining and supporting staff in the child protection sector. Many services suggest that this may be improved if, once staff have been identified, they are supported adequately by such mechanisms as professional clinical mentoring. Professional Clinical MentoringThe concept of staff mentoring is not new. It is considered as core practice in developing a professionalised staff pool and retaining personnel. This process is also more widely known as professional or independent supervision, however, we refer to it here as clinical mentoring to avoid confusion between general supervision, which is line management focussed, and professional supervision. A key feature of quality mentoring of staff is that they are able to be more connected to their work, and therefore, have a greater personal and professional interest in the best possible practice. When staff have a strong sense of their location in and connection with their work, they are more likely to remain in that work for longer. Research has demonstrated that poor supervision or the absence of supervision results in:
This project proposes to implement a process of one on one staff mentoring by using AASW professional mentors or supervisors. This will be enhanced by several group sessions which will bring together both Government and non-government staff in a context of cooperation, and partnership, and a shared vision of professionalism and localised best practice development. Overview of Supervision model proposedA reference group of PeakCare, AASW, DChS and academic staff has been convened to oversee the project and ensure that rigorous standards are adhered to. The reference group will select the supervisors, set up and oversee the evaluative research component and act as a quality control process for the project. The mentors have a working knowledge of child protection issues but will not be currently engaged in the work. Mentors will be selected and trained to ensure that there are very clear boundaries around the mentoring tasks and responsibilities, and management tasks, which will remain organisational. Each participant would receive a total 12 sessions (1 per fortnight) for the six months of the pilot study. Of the mentoring sessions, 9 would be individual 1 hour sessions and 3 would be group sessions which run for 2 hours Who is involved?In Far Northern Queensland DChS staff have been drawn from the senior practitioner/team leader level with the equivalent level being sought from the non government organisations. This will enable the participants to discuss and explore their casework, supervision styles and management of staff/cases issues with their clinical mentor and in the group supervision processes. In the non government sector workers who supervise direct care workers, manage programs or workers who would like to explore the development of their professional self have been proposed. In the Logan zone the project has focussed on newer staff who are involved in actual case work with clients (CSO level within the DChS and case worker etc within the non government sector). Direct care workers who work with either children/young people or their families will benefit from the opportunity to develop their skills in direct client work. Participants do not need to be social workers but they will be supervised by social workers or people approved by AASW to supervise. What does the project entail?A commitment to participate in one on one clinical mentoring over a period of six months, which will also include up to three group supervision processes with other participants in the project will be required. The project will be evaluated so involvement in the evaluation process is vital. A commitment to gaining support for the project from your employer is important. This means allowing participants to be available to take part in the project in work hours wherever possible. For further information please contact Gail Slocombe at PeakCare 073368 1050 gslocombe@peakcare.com.au [1] Knapman,J and Morrison, T (2004):”Making the most of supervision in health and social care” in Inskipp, F and proctor, B “ Making the most of supervision” Pavillion. |
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