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SUPERVISION EXPERIENCE AND EXPECTATION OF CHILD PROTECTION WORKERS IN ESTONIAN MUNICIPALITIES GOALS OF SUPERVISION The goal of supervision is to provide an opportunity for the supervisee (in the context of this article — child protection worker) to learn a broad spectrum of professional attitudes, knowledge and skills in an effective and supportive manner. Successful supervision occurs within the context of complex professional relationship that is on-going and mutually involving.'‘ The process of supervision plays an important role in developing the skills necessary to respond effectively to reports of child maltreatment.!” Munro described professional supervision in child protection as a core mechanism for helping social workers critically reflect on the understanding they are forming of the family, of considering their emotional response and whether this is adversely affecting their reasoning, and for making decisions about how best to help [...] the availability and quality of supervision contributes to the quality of reasoning that social workers can achieve.'* From the organization’s perspective, a worker’s job performance is the primary outcome. In child welfare, this may be seen in relation to professional tasks including assessment, care planning and review, as well as effective workload management. The ultimate goal of professional supervision should be to provide the best possible support to client (child and family) in accordance with the organization’s responsibilities and accountable professional standards. Organizations are likely to achieve this aim through workers who are skillful, knowledgeable, clear about their roles and assisted in their practice by sound advice from a supervisor with whom they have a good professional relationship." In conclusion, it can be argued that regular supervision is imperative in child protection work. THE METHOD OF STUDY The purpose of this study is to answer the question: What are the current supervision experience and expectations of child protection workers in 15 Estonian municipalities? The survey was focused on external supervision and 6 E. Holloway - M. Carroll, Training counselling supervisors. Strategies, Methods and Techniques, SAGE Publications, 1999, 10-11. 17 C. A. Lietz, Implementation of Group Supervision in Child Welfare: Findings from Arizona’s Supervision Circle Project, Child Welfare, Vol. 87, Nr. 6, 2008, 31. 18 E. Munro, Review of Child Protection Interim Report: The Child’s Journey, 2015, 53. Carpenter et al., The surprisingly weak evidence base for supervision: Findings from a systematic review of research in child welfare practice (2000-2012), Children and Youth Services Review, 2013, 1843-1844. * 181 +
