Building a Model and Framework for Child Welfare Supervision

Component 2A model of supervisory practice that reflects how theorganization views the roles, responsibilities, andexpectations of supervisors and includes up-to-date, writtenjob descriptions.A serious, but preventable, obstacle to effective child welfare supervision is the lack of a definedchild welfare supervisory practice model that reflects how the field and the organization view thesupervisory position, including current, specific job descriptions for supervisors. Both the literatureand key informants in the field stress the importance of developing “a coherent model ofsupervision, impart[ing] it to staff and rigorouslyevaluat[ing] its impact” (Sundet et al. 2003; also The description of my responsibilities is veryCollins-Camargo 2006:83). Our informantsgeneral and includes only a few tasks, such asfrequently reported that their organizations lacked“Provides direct supervision.” – Supervisorboth this critical resource and clearly statedexpectations and job descriptions for agencysupervisors.Kadushin and Harkness (2002) emphasize that ongoing stress in being a supervisor “results fromlack of clear definition of the supervisor’s tasks, responsibilities, and authority” (p. 293). A specific,written description of child welfare supervisors’ responsibilities should be developed (Allnoch1998; NRCOI 2007; Sundet & Kelly 2007) and used to:• identify the skill set and other characteristics sought when We have a generalized jobrecruiting and hiring/selecting supervisors in order to “get description on the agencythe right people” (Collins 2005);website, but it is so broad that• develop a performance appraisal for child welfareit doesn't address whatsupervisors; andsupervisors do. – Administrator• assist supervisors in evaluating their own needs for trainingand professional development and identifying issues fortheir own supervision.Without explicit written information about supervisors’ role, functions, responsibilities andexpectations, the agency cannot recruit and select appropriate applicants for supervisory positions.As Kadushin and Harkness note, “The skills of managing are different from the skills of doing”(2002: 283). Clarity about responsibilities and expectations allows potential applicants and thoseselecting child welfare supervisory personnel to identify and evaluate the fit between a person’sknowledge, skills, and attitudes and a specific supervisory position. The written description of achild welfare supervisor’s role, responsibilities, and expectations also helps supervisors identifytheir own training and supervision needs.A written job description for supervisorsOften the way staff is obtained is sort of like Russianshould focus equally on the three mainroulette, not about matching the needs and strengths ofsupervisory functions defined byKadushin—administrative, educational, the workers with the needs, capability, and style of aand supportive supervision. A sample job supervisor. – Supervisordescription is provided in Appendix D.30