Social workers experiences of the implementation of a developmental social welfare approach: An qualitative exploratory study

Abstract

The White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) introduced a developmental social welfare approach. This document has been drawn up with the participation of key stakeholders in the welfare field. It was however social workers who were responsible for the implementation of the policy. It's important that, after five years, the experience of social workers in the implementation of the policy guidelines be explored. This was necessary in order to give feedback to policymakers. The goal of the research was to explore a selected group of social workers experiences about the implementation of the social developmental welfare approach. The study used the qualitative approach in order to explore what social workers experiences were regarding the implementation of the social developmental approach. The researcher made use of focus groups and interviews to collect data. This enabled the researcher to collect rich information about social work experiences and to stimulate new ideas. The data was analysed by clustering themes and topics as they emerged and coding them. The topics and themes were then reduced and arranged in categories. The data was verified by basing it on four aspects namely: truth value, applicability, consistency and neutrality. The outcome of the research indicated that social workers on all levels and at different organizations acknowledge the need for and potential value of the guidelines for a developmental social welfare approach. The dire need for professional and volunteer human resources and supportive structure for the implementation of the guidelines leaves both professional helpers and client systems frustrated.